How Do You Like Me Now
by DegrassiDrinkin
Summary: Clare and Jake are married with kids. Clare finds out Jake is cheating on her and now she will need a lot of help getting on with her life.
1. Sounds Like Life

**New story time!**

**As always, I don't own Degrassi, but I do own the 4 or so original characters in this story (you will see who I mean) and I made up the titles of Eli's books.**

**I hope you enjoy :)**

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><p><em>"We will never get back together; you really need to give up trying!" Clare yelled at a very distraught Eli.<em>

_"I was just going to ask you if you wanted to work together to finish this English project. I guess not." Eli said sadly._

_Just then she and Eli were transported. They were standing at the altar of a rather large church right now. Eli was holding her hands and wearing the biggest smile that Clare had ever seen; and a lovely black suit. Eli was wearing a suit. Clare looked around to take in the rest of the scene. All of the friends and family were there. Her mom and dad were actually sitting together in the front row. Darcy and Alli were standing right behind Clare wearing matching blue dresses. Clare was not sure how she had gotten here, but she was sure that she was loving every little thing about what was happening right now._

_While the preacher was going through his usual sermon, Clare couldn't take her eyes off of Eli. It seemed so strange to her to see him in a church setting, but she knew that Eli would do anything to make her happy. When it came to the part where the preacher said "you may kiss the bride" Eli lifted her veil and leaned in to kiss her._

_Clare had never had a more meaningful kiss in her entire life. Every ounce of her was poured into that kiss. Every fear, every hope for the future; Clare did not hold back. She wanted Eli forever and now her wish was coming true. _

_When Clare pulled out of the kiss something was wrong. She should have been hearing cheers and applause from her family and friends, instead there was only silence. Clare looked up to see that she was no longer in a church. She was standing in a courthouse in front of a tired looking judge. What was even more shocking was who she was with now. Standing next to her, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, was Jake. He had no real emotion on his face. This should have been the happiest day of his life, but he just stood there quietly._

_buzz,buzz,buzz_

Clare awoke with a start. It was all a dream; Clare had dreamt that she was marrying Eli. Eli, her ex-boyfriend that she hadn't seen in many, many years. It was only a dream, but it was one of those dreams that you would have sworn were really happening. Clare could still feel Eli's kiss on her lips. She could still feel the extreme disappointment that had washed over her when Eli had morphed into Jake.

It was at that moment when Clare's eyes started to tear up. She loved her husband, why was she feeling like this right now? She looked over at her still sleeping husband. He had not aged well. The stress had been getting to him lately and she could see new wrinkles forming around his eyes every day. His once toned stomach was now starting to form a small bulge over his jeans. She had tried to get him to take care of himself more, but he just laughed it off.

Clare leaned over to wake him up and give him a good morning kiss. He hadn't been shaving as often lately and his scruffy face felt like needles stabbing her lips and cheeks when she kissed him. She really hated that feeling.

"Ughhh. It is morning already? I feel like I JUST got to sleep. What time is it?" Jake asked his wife, not bothering to open his eyes.

"It's 6:15. Dad wants you to meet him at seven-thirty to go over the client list, remember? You need to see if you can pick up any new jobs. We really need the money, so you had better get moving!" Clare sternly told her husband.

After high school Jake had two years of schooling in a construction trade school and then he had eventually taken over his father's contracting business. Glen still stayed on as a manager of sorts; it was clear that Jake needed him for that. Jake was never good at dealing with clients, but he was a whiz when it came to construction. He could pretty much do anything with a hammer and nails.

Jake's quality of work was never a problem. The main problem was that no one in the city of Toronto was really building or remodeling anything at the moment. There were always booming years and lean years in the construction business, these past few years had just happened to be extremely lean years.

Jake groaned and rolled over, away from Clare, "Give me fifteen more minutes!"

Clare knew that she shouldn't - Glen would kill them is Jake showed up late again today - but she just did not feel like arguing today. Clare just wanted one day a week that she didn't have to deal with an argument.

As Clare got herself out of bed and started to get ready for the day, she couldn't help but think back to the dream that she just had. What had it meant? She knew that she didn't have the happiest marriage around, but why, after all these years, would she be having a dream about Eli. It must mean something.

By the time she was showered and dressed, Clare still couldn't get the thoughts of Eli out of her mind. She went back into her bedroom to see if Jake was getting dressed yet, and sure enough, he was still lying in bed. At least he was actually awake today, Clare thought to herself.

"Come here, babe!" Jake grinned from his side of the bed.

"Not today, Jacob," Clare said sternly, "You need to get dressed and go meet your father. Right now."

"Oh come on. Five minutes," Jake had tried to give his best sad puppy face, but Clare wasn't falling for it.

"Oh, believe me, I know it would only take five minutes, but you need to go to work early and I need to get the kids up and ready for school. So you can get that out of your mind, it is not happening right now!" Clare was on the verge of yelling, but she tried to keep her voice down so that the kids would not overhear their conversation.

How could Jake even think of sex at a time like this? Oh, right, he wasn't the one having dreams about marrying his ex. That was all in Clare's mind.

Clare left Jake lying in their bed and headed to the living room. She still had a few minutes to kill before she had to wake up her children, so she thought she would watch some television. She wanted to get caught up on the local news.

Clare was hoping to hear something about the economy turning back around. Maybe people would start building again. Jake needed more work; the business wasn't doing very well. If only he could find some new clients.

"...And coming up at the top of the hour: hometown author now rumored to be gay. We have an exclusive interview." blasted from the television when Clare turned it on.

"Oh who cares?" Clare said out loud.

After that Clare sat and watched a series of commercials. The news finally returned and the only thing that the newscasters seemed to want to talk about was the weather. When it became obvious to Clare that she wasn't going to hear anything worthwhile, she decided to get a head start on making breakfast.

Just as Clare was putting the pancakes and bacon on the table she realized that her oldest child, Elisa, was already awake and sitting on the couch watching TV.

Elisa was fifteen years old already. Clare could not believe how quickly the time had passed since she first got pregnant with Elisa. Her daughter was growing up so fast! Clare's mom had always said that Elisa had Clare's eyes. It was true. Elisa had the most beautiful blue eyes. Clare's only daughter also had the same light brown, curly hair and the same short haircut that Clare had when she was fifteen. Sometimes Clare did a double take when she saw her daughter. To Clare, it was as if she was looking at a mirror into the past. There were times when Clare could not even believe how much Elisa looked like her when she was younger.

"Leelee, honey, can you please wake up your brothers for me?" Clare asked her daughter.

"Moooommmmm, my favorite author is going to be on soon! I woke up early just so I could watch this before school. I really, really, really don't want to miss it. He rarely gives TV interviews. My brothers never want to get up; they'll make me miss it. Please mom?" Elisa begged her mother.

"Yes, fine. I'll get them. Breakfast is ready if you want some," Clare was just happy that her daughter was still interested in reading and authors instead of those violent video games that her sons loved so much.

"Junior. Thomas. Daniel. Time to wake up!" Clare yelled as she walked down the hall to start the tiring process of waking up her sons; two teenage boys and one pre-teen boy. Clare wondered how she had ended up with such difficult children. They were adorable, though, she had to admit it.

Her three boys were the spitting image of their father. Clare thought back to how handsome their father was when he was younger; the light brown hair, the cocky smile. He was so tall and muscular; no wonder Clare fell for him.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Elisa was settled on the couch with her pancakes and bacon. She was so excited to watch her favorite author. This was the first television interview that she had ever seen him give.

_"We are here with Eli Goldsworthy, author with local roots. He has just released his fifth book and he is here with us today to give us an exclusive interview. So Eli, is it okay if I call you Eli?" The interviewer, a pretty young girl with long, dark hair, started. Eli just shook his head yes, "So, Eli, your fifth book. How does it feel?"_

_"It's strange, you know. People recognize me on the street now. Even when I'm in Manhattan, where my publisher is, people recognize me. It is such a surreal experience to be in the busiest city in the world, with people rushing by left and right and to get pick out of a crowd. People are always coming up to me telling me how much they love my books," Eli paused and a smirk spread across his face, "That's not why I got into this business, but I have to admit, it pretty damn awesome."_

_The interviewer laughed at Eli. It was pretty obvious that she was taken by his charm. _

_"New York is huge. It is pretty amazing that people are able to spot you. Do you get to spend much time in Toronto anymore?"_

_"Yes, actually. As much as I love New York, Toronto will always be my home. I still own a house here and my parents still live here. I try to spend all of my free time here, when I'm not on book tours or working on editing in New York. I actually can't write in any other city. Toronto just gets my creativity flowing I guess." Eli smirked again._

_"What is your new book about, Eli?"_

_"It's about love and loss." Eli was very short with his answer. His face kind of dropped for a milli-second before he recovered and resumed his signature smirk._

_"That's pretty vague. Can you elaborate?" The interviewer pushed._

_Eli shrugged, "I guess you are just going to have to read it."_

_"Okay, okay. I can see we're not going to be able to get it out of you. How about we talk about your recent philanthropy? You have recently donated a great sum of money to many wonderful LGBT organizations in both Canada and the United States. Would you like to tell us about that?" The interviewer asked._

_"There isn't much to tell. I have made a lot more money than I need. I cannot justify spending all of this money on myself so I donated it to some worthy causes." Eli responded politely._

_"All of these 'worthy causes' have been transgender and gay rights organizations. A lot of people have assumed that means that you are gay. Do you have anything to say about that?"_

_"I am not going to confirm nor deny those accusations. That is my personal life and I do not really feel comfortable sharing that with the entire world. As for the donations, I choose organizations that were near to my heart." Eli should have known that question was going to come up. _

_"Well, I sure hope you're not gay!" The interviewer blurted out then became visually embarrassed with herself. "I just mean that you are a very attractive and sensitive man. You are probably making some lucky girl - or guy I suppose - very happy." The interviewer looked over at Eli as if begging him to help her._

_When Eli just smiled back at her, the interviewer continued, "Well, I guess that is all the time we have for today. Eli Goldsworthy; go buy his newest book, 'Anything But A Love Story'. It's now in stores everywhere. Thanks, Eli." The interviewer finished and the camera started to pan zoom out._

The channel went to commercial just as Clare finally followed all three of her sons into the kitchen for breakfast. Her husband was not far behind.

Jake grabbed his breakfast and went to join his daughter on the couch, leaving Clare at the breakfast table with the three boys.

"What are we watching this morning, Lee?" Jake asked his only daughter. Jake still didn't know how to talk to young girls. He usually just treated her as if she were a boy. He called her Lee because, to him, it was a male name. Jake could not really deal with the fact that he had a girl.

"Just the news. My favorite author was giving an interview, but I think it's over now," Elisa told her father.

"Did you happen to catch the score of the game? I think it might have gone into over time, I fell asleep before it was over," Jake wondered why he had to have such a strange daughter. If he was going to have a daughter couldn't she have at least been a tomboy? Nope, instead Elisa loved to read and write and all that lame stuff that Jake couldn't stand. She never liked to get her hands dirty or play sports with the boys.

"No, Dad, sorry. They haven't shown it yet."

"Dad?" Elisa asked hesitantly, "Could I... could I possibly have some money to buy a new book?"

"You have a library card. You can go after school and borrow as many books as you want," Jake was mentally rolling his eyes. Books, always more books.

"It's just... it's just that the book I want is brand new. The library won't have it yet. Plus, it's my favorite author. I'd love to own one of his books." Elisa explained.

"New means expensive. I'm sorry; we don't have that kind of money to be wasting on books right now."

"Okay," Elisa was disappointed. She knew her parents weren't really doing that great with money right now, but at least she wasn't like her brothers. They were always asking for a new fifty or sixty dollar video game every month. If her father could afford new video games, certainly he could afford one silly little book.

Elisa was becoming so upset with her father. She knew she just had to walk away before she said anything that might get her in trouble. Her friend, Seth, would be here soon to walk her to school, anyway. She needed to be ready when he got here so that her father wouldn't have time to question him, like he always tried to do.

Elisa walked back out to the living room, after getting ready for school, to find her father standing in the front doorway questioning Seth. Poor Seth. They were only friends. No need for her father to harass him like he always did.

"DAD!" Elias yelled, "Leave Seth alone! He's not my boyfriend. We are JUST FRIENDS. We have been friends for years now. When are you going to leave him alone?"

"I will leave you both alone when my only daughter stops having a weird little boy as her best friend. What is wrong with girls your age? Please, just get some girlfriends. It would save your poor father a lot of worry." Jake told his daughter. If she was going to act like a little girl, Jake was going to treat her like a little girl. And there was no way that he was letting his little girl near boys without putting up a fight. Jake was fifteen once. He knew what fifteen year old boys wanted. This Seth kid may be really strange, but he was still a fifteen year old boy. He was not letting his daughter get mixed up with any of that.

"You are so ridiculous, Dad! You really need to -"

"Come on, Eli. Time for school, let's go," Seth interrupted his best friend and dragged her out the door before she could say anything that would make her father even more mad. "Goodbye Mr. Martin. Have a nice day!" Seth called out as he continued to lead Elisa away from her house.

Jake was fuming, "Who does that boy think he is?" He called out to his wife.

"He's just her friend, dear," Clare answered.

"And why in the hell does he call her Eli? Her name is Elisa, dammit! Elisa, or Lee, or Lisa, NOT Eli! I will not have my grandmother's good name associated with that freak we went to Degrassi with." Jake was raising his voice in anger at the thought of his daughter being called THAT name.

"At least I have my boys to keep me sane, right boys?" Jake laughed at his sons shoveling pancakes in their mouths.

"Right Dad!" They all answered back.

"When do I get to meet that new girlfriend of yours, Junior?" Jake asked his oldest son.

"Soon, Dad, real soon. Just got to make it official, if you know what I mean." Jacob told his father.

"That's my boy!" Jake said, beaming with pride at his oldest son.


	2. Thinking Of You

**So… I felt like spoiling you guys this week. Just don't get used to it :P **

**This chapter (this whole story really) is dedicated to Westcoasttrees. The scene between Elisa and Eli was entirely her idea; I just loved it and ran with it. She is a really amazing writer and my DegrassiSoulMate. You should check her stuff out, if you haven't already. If you are really nice, we might be able get her to start writing again.**

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><p>"So, Eli, what are you up to after school tomorrow?" Seth asked his best friend, the girl that he was secretly in love with, as they walked out of the school doors for the day.<p>

"I don't know, Seth. Why are you even bothering to ask me that? You know we always hang out on Friday nights. Pizza at your house, I guess. Then movie marathon, as always. Who are we watching this week?" Elisa responded, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Well, I was thinking you might want to do something a little different this week, is all. But if you don't want to that's totally fine, I guess." Seth put a sad smile on his face and looked up at the girl he loved.

"Different like how? Chinese food instead of pizza?" Elisa laughed at her own joke.

"If you are going to keep acting like a brat then I am not going to tell you," Seth replied. "It's good too, but now you will never know. I guess I'll have to go by myself."

"SETH, you had better tell me right now!" Elisa grabbed his arms and shoved her face up close to his and yelled.

Seth laughed. He knew that would get a response out of Elisa. He had not expected that good of a response, though. She was so close. He wanted to close the two inch gap between them and put his lips on hers. He couldn't do it. He would resist the urge to kiss her for his entire life if it meant keeping his best friend.

"Nope, not telling," Seth said. He knew he would tell her soon enough, he just wanted to enjoy a few more seconds with her holding him so closely.

"Tell me now! Or I will punch you. You know I will!" Elisa growled in Seth's face.

"Okay, okay, okay, but you have to promise to be nice to me," Seth grinned at his best friend.

"I got you a little present..." Seth said as he pulled two tickets from his pocket.

Elisa didn't wait for him to say what they were; she just snatched them from his hands. She read the front of the tickets and her mouth fell open. She was at a loss for words.

"So... do you want to go?" Seth was getting nervous now. Why wasn't she saying anything? She was never at a loss for words. Elisa always had something to say.

"Do I want to go? Are you joking? It's Eli freaking Goldsworthy! Of course I want to go. He is only the best, most talented, amazing writer ever. He is my absolute favorite. And he is sooooo cute. I would never pass up an opportunity to meet him!" Elisa jumped into Seth's arms and hugged him tightly. "You are the best friend in the entire world. How did a girl like me get so lucky?"

Seth just rolled his eyes playfully. He was overwhelmed with her hot breath on his face. They had hugged before, of course, but never like this. She had never jumped up into his arms and let him hold her so tightly. She had never trusted him to not let her fall to the ground. She had never wrapped her legs around him like that. Seth was letting his hormonal teenage mind run away from him. He could think of nothing with in that moment but a vision of Elisa's lips moving slowly against his.

"Uh, you can put me down now." Elisa laughed at her friend.

Seth was startled out of his daydream. He slowly placed Elias back on the ground and was faced with an extremely embarrassing, um, problem. Without him realizing it, his body had begun to react to his daydream.

Seth turned away quick and started to walk away. His only hope was that Elisa hadn't noticed. He would never be able to explain that embarrassment away.

"Where are you going?" Elisa followed after her friend.

"Oh, uh, I just realized what time it was. My mom wanted me home early today. We have to get a move on or I won't have time to walk you home." Seth tried to cover as best as he could. Only problem was, now he gypped himself out of an afternoon with Elisa. He figured that was the price he had to pay for letting himself lose control around her.

Elias said goodbye to Seth at her front door and ran into her house, excited to tell her mother about her big plans for the next evening.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" Elisa ran around calling for her mother.

"In the kitchen, Leelee!" Clare called back.

"Mom! Mom, guess what!" Elisa excitedly said.

"What is it sweetie?" Clare asked as she continued chopping vegetables for the night's dinner.

"Seth got me tickets to see my favorite author! It's tomorrow night," Elisa was almost screeching at this point.

"That was very nice of him. He is such a good friend. Where is it and what time is it?"

"It's downtown at seven-thirty," Elisa responded, just now worrying that her parents might not let her go.

"That's nice, but I'll give you a ride home. I don't want you two taking public transit all alone after dark."

"Thanks, Mom. Thank you. Thank you." Elisa hugged her mother.

"Oh, honey, you deserve it. I heard you ask your father for money this morning. I'm sorry he said no. You are going to need a book now, if you are going to an author signing. Here." Clare pulled some money out of her pocket and handed it to her daughter.

"Mom, I can't. Dad said-"

"I know what your father said. Just take it, please. You love reading and that is a good habit that should be encouraged," Clare said meaningfully to her daughter, "Just don't tell your father or your brothers that I gave you money." Clare smiled down at her little girl.

Elisa had misjudged her mother. She should have known that her mom would be happy for her. Her mom was always understanding with it came to Elisa and her relationship with Seth. Unlike her father, her mother actually seemed to like Seth.

"You are the best, Mom," Elisa said.

"I didn't do anything," Clare winked at her daughter. "Oh, and Leelee."

"Yeah Mom?"

"Don't forget to thank Seth. That boy does so much for you." Clare told Elisa as she went back to preparing dinner.

Clare thought about Elisa and Seth. Elisa was so lucky to have a boy like Seth. A boy that was interested in the same things she was and who would take her places just because he knew she would enjoy it. Clare, all of the sudden, started to feel something very strange when she thought about her daughter's relationship with her best friend. Was it jealously? Clare couldn't even remember the last time that she got to go to an author reading. It had been years. Many, many years. Probably not since Eli...

Seth had always reminded Clare of someone, but she had never been able to figure out who it was. It was just then that it hit her. Seth reminded her of Eli. No wonder Jake had such a problem with Seth and Elisa. Seth probably reminded him of Eli also.

Seth was kind of short, a lot shorter than Clare's sons and he had the exact opposite personality. Where Jacob, Thomas, and Daniel were outgoing and athletic, Seth was quiet and reserved. He was always very polite and - aside from when he was with Elisa - he always had his nose in a book, Seth's hair was a lot lighter in color than Eli's, but he had that same shaggy haircut that Eli wore when they were younger.

The realization shocked Clare. She hadn't thought of Eli in a long time, and now he was taking over her entire day.

Clare needed to sit down. This was all too much to take in. If Seth was just like Eli and Elisa was just like Clare, how was it that Clare loved them together? She was rooting for them to make it. They were so perfect together.

They had been friends for much longer than Clare had been friends with Eli. Clare wondered how they were able to make it work when she and Eli were never able to. Clare couldn't understand.

Clare also couldn't understand why she was thinking like this. She was a married woman. Her ex-boyfriend, the one that crashed his hearse on purpose, should be the last thing on her mind. Clare had more important things to think about. No need to take up her time and energy worrying about her crazy ex when she needed to get dinner on the table before her husband got home.

The next day after school Elisa waited by Seth's locker. They had decided that they were going to take the bus downtown right after school and walk around for a while until it was time for the author reading.

"I am so excited. Thank you so, so much, Seth. You are the best friend that a girl could ever ask for," Elisa told Seth and he just smiled back at her.

Elisa couldn't wait to meet The Eli Goldsworthy in person. Seth had really outdone himself this time. Seth had a knack for getting her the perfect birthday or Christmas presents, but he never did anything as awesome as this. And for no reason? Elisa couldn't understand what she did to deserve such a present.

"Seth-y," Elisa didn't know it, but Seth loved when she called him that, "What do you think Eli is going to talk about? I heard people think he's gay. Do you think he is? He doesn't seem gay to me. His books are all about girls. He wouldn't write love stories about girls if he was gay, would he?"

Seth just shrugged. He wasn't sure what it was, but lately he was so taken by Elisa's beauty that he sometimes lost the power of speech when in her presence.

"Seth-y, darling, is something wrong?" Elisa asked as she spun in happy circles in front of him.

"What? No, everything's fine." Seth was mesmerized by Elisa's movements.

"You are being awfully quiet today. Aren't you excited? We get to meet Eli in a couple of hours!" Elisa was still dancing around while they were waiting for the bus to take them downtown.

Seth smiled to himself. He didn't care about meeting Eli Goldsworthy. He only bought the tickets so he could see Elisa this happy. Sure, Seth liked Eli's books and thought Eli seemed like a pretty cool dude, but he already had his Eli. She was right next to him, happily dancing. She had an amazing smile on her face that he had put there. Seth would do anything to make his girl smile, even if she wasn't technically his girl.

When they made it downtown Elisa and Seth wandered around the city. Elisa was dancing and skipping as they made their way up and down the various streets. When Elisa stopped jumping about Seth knew that she might be getting hungry. It was getting close to dinnertime and she hadn't eaten much at lunch.

Seth decided to buy her dinner. He had told her she could pick whatever she wanted, but she just said that Friday was pizza night and walked into a nearby pizza shop. He would have taken her to a five-star restaurant is she had asked, but he should have known that she would just ask for pizza, it was her favorite.

When they arrived at the venue for the author reading Seth began to become very nervous. It was a lot more crowded than he had expected. He started looking around for empty seats while Elisa continued to chat away about her undying love of "The Eli Goldsworthy". Seth was getting scared that he wasn't going to be able to find two seats together, when Elisa took his hand and pulled him right up towards the stage. She pulled out their tickets and looked at them quickly before pulling Seth into the front row. Seth took the tickets back so he could look at them. There was assigned seating? How had he not realized?

"Did you campout over night for these tickets or something?" Elisa laughed. "These are the best seats!"

Seth just shrugged. As soon as he had heard that Eli Goldsworthy was having an event in town he didn't even think, he just went and got tickets. It wasn't like he had planned to be the first one in line - an hour before the box office had opened that day – It just kind of happened. He knew that this was something his FRIEND would want to do and he didn't want her to miss out.

Clare arrived at the venue to pick up Elisa and Seth a little earlier than planned. With her husband and her sons out for the night, her house just seemed way too quiet and lonely to sit there and wait around one more second. She was also extremely excited to hear how her daughter's date had gone.

Clare parked her car down the street and figured she would walk down to meet her daughter and Seth by the door. If she was lucky, she might even be able to sneak in and catch the last few minutes of the author reading. Clare was excited at that idea. It had been so, so long since she had been to an event like that.

When Clare got inside she was happy to see that there was no security, no on taking tickets. The back door to the auditorium was open so Clare peeked her head inside and was met with the biggest shock of her life. Right there, standing up in stage, was Eli. Eli, her ex-boyfriend from high school, was her daughter's favorite author? How had Clare never realized this little piece of information? This was not possible. Sure enough, when Clare let her eyes move from Eli's smirking face for a few seconds to scan the crowd, she saw Elisa and Seth sitting in the front row and hanging on Eli's every word.

Clare felt as if the entire world was slowly closing in on her. In what universe was Eli, her Eli, a famous author and Clare didn't even know about it? Sure, she had seen his first book being advertised in local bookstores, but Clare never knew it was a hit.

When Clare really thought about it, though, she realized that she hadn't really been to a bookstore in a couple of years. There just wasn't any time for things like that. Jake didn't like her wasting her time on reading when she could be doing more productive things instead.

Clare had to get out of there before anyone saw her. She couldn't get caught checking out how beautiful Eli still was. How he had grown to look more mature, but somehow kept that amazing smirk that Clare had always loved to kiss right off of his face.

Clare ran. She couldn't allow herself to think any of these thought. She was a married woman, for god's sake!

Just as Eli was finishing up reading the excerpt from his newest book, Elisa received a text message from her mother, "Got here early. I'll be down the street at the coffee shop waiting. Come get me when you are ready. – Mom"

Elisa smiled at how nice and thoughtful her mother was being.

"My mom is down the street. She says to meet her when we are finished here," Elisa said, showing her phone to Seth.

"Okay, sounds good. Hey, I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick, stay right here," Seth told her as he got up.

"Okay, friends, we're not going to be taking any questions today. So if you could bear with us for a few minutes, we're going to get set up for book signings right now," Eli's publicist came on stage and told the crowd.

A minute or two later Seth wasn't back and Eli's publicist told the crowd they could start lining up. Elisa didn't want to miss her chance to meet Eli Goldsworthy so she ran right up and got in line, ignoring Seth's orders to stay put.

It was Elisa's turn to get her book signed and Seth still hadn't made it back. She took a quick look around for him, but she couldn't worry about him right now. She handed her book to Eli and he looked up at her and froze. Elisa just smiled excitedly back. She couldn't think of anything to say and was mentally kicking herself.

"You have the most beautiful blue eyes I have seen in a VERY long time," Eli said to Elisa.

"Thanks," Elisa grinned back.

"You remind me of someone I used to know." Eli looked at her thoughtfully.

"Is it that Juliana girl in the story you just read?" Elisa asked excitedly. She knew that authors usually wrote about real experiences, even if they called it fiction.

"No… you remind me of a girl I-"

"ELISA! I told you to wait for me! Why do you always do stuff like this to me? You always make me worry about you!" Seth was angry when he finally found Elisa.

Elisa just turned around and glared at Seth. He had ruined her moment with Eli Goldsworthy.

"God, Seth!" Elisa yelled at him. "Why do you always have to worry so much? I'm right here. I'm not going to get hurt at a book signing."

"It's because he loves you," Eli said to Elisa's back.

Elisa was furious now. Why Eli defending Seth's stupid, controlling, suffocating actions?

"WHAT?" Elisa turned back and shouted in Eli's face.

"It's just… isn't it obvious? He loves you. I don't know what your relationship is, but that boy is in love with you," Eli explained.

Seth was feeling really uncomfortable. The entire auditorium was staring at him now and Eli was outing his secret feelings for Elisa. Could this night go any worse? He walked closer to Elisa and Eli in the hopes that everyone else would go back to their own conversations and forget that he ever existed.

"Is that true, Seth?" Elisa asked when he got to her side.

Seth hung his head in shame. "Yes," he mumbled.

"How could you possibly have known that?" Elisa asked Eli.

"When a gentleman loves a lady, the only thing he can think about is keeping her safe and when there is any chance that something might happen to her he won't be able to do anything but worry about her," Eli so beautifully explained.

Elisa was in awe. Was she really getting love advice from Eli? She couldn't believe it. AND Seth loved her? Like, more than a friend loved her? She had never thought about it before, but it made sense.

Eli finished signing her book and handed it back to her.

Elisa read the inscription: "To the girl with the beautiful blue eyes, Don't let love pass you by. You will regret it for the rest of your life. Eli Goldsworthy"

When she finished reading, Elisa smiled up at him. She was about to walk away when she realized something.

"Hey, Eli, who do I remind you of?" Elisa asked. She had to know.

"Just a girl I used to love. Her name was Clare."

"Oh, cool. That's my mom's name. What a coincidence!" Elisa laughed and skipped off.

"I, uh, can you excuse me for a second, please?" Eli said to the next person in line and stepped away from the table.

Could it be possible? Had Eli just met Clare's daughter? She did have Clare's blue eyes and the same beautiful curls. Eli took a deep breath. He had to finish this book signing first, then he could go home and worry about this for as long as he wanted.

"So, Seth-y… you love me?" Elisa teased when they made it outside.

A cool spring breeze was blowing Elisa's hair all over the place and Seth thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Yes. I love you. I have loved you for a very long time," Seth told her. "But I didn't want to tell you because I don't want to ruin our friendship. I don't want things to be weird between us. Let's just pretend that this night never happened." Seth hung his head, feeling defeated.

"Why would I want to pretend that tonight never happened? This has been the best night of my life. And it's all thanks to you!"

Elisa took Seth's face in her hands and made him look her in the eyes. They stood like that, on the crowded sidewalk, for what seemed like an eternity. Seth was standing completely still. His eyes were locked with the beautiful girl in front of him and he wasn't moving a muscle.

Elisa decided to stop thinking and just go for it. Eli's inscription was ringing in her mind. "You will regret it for the rest of your life." No regrets! Elisa thought and leaned forward as she used her hands to pull Seth's face to her.

When their lips finally met it was as if a bolt of electricity shot right through them. Sure, Elisa had kissed other boys before, but never had a kiss had this effect on her before. Now she knew what the big deal was. Now she knew why people wrote novels after just a single kiss.

"Wow," Seth said as they pulled out of the kiss.

"Yeah, wow." Elisa put her hand to her lips. They were still hot from Seth's kiss.

"I hope this means that you feel the same way?" Seth asked hesitantly.

"I think so, but I can't be positive. I need to think about everything for a little while, if that's okay. I want you to know, though, that no matter what happens I would never be able to live without you," Elisa smiled and kissed Seth on the cheek.

"Now, let's go find my mom. She's going to start getting worried," Elisa said and took Seth's hand and continued walking down the street towards the coffee shop.

Eli had just finished signing his last book for the night. His hand was aching and his publicist was bugging him about the minor freak-out he had earlier. Eli just wanted to get a caffeine fix and head home. He knew it was going to be a long night. He had been doing well with not thinking about Clare lately, but that little girl had just ruined all hopes of that for him tonight. Eli just shook his publicist off with a promise of calling him tomorrow and headed out the door. It was a nice spring night and Eli figured he'd be up late tonight writing, so he decided to walk down to the coffee shop and get one of those frozen coffee drinks. The kind that his mother said he shouldn't be drinking because they have such a high fat content. Eli had to laugh at himself. He was thirty-five years old and he still felt guilty when he disobeyed his mother's wishes.

Eli walked into the coffee shop, smiling to himself and thinking about his loving mother. She was always so worried about him.

While Eli was waiting in line to order, he looked around; he always liked to observe his surroundings, it was the writer in him. As he watched all the happy people chatting and sipping coffee, something caught his eye. It was the little girl from before, the one that reminded him of Clare. And she was pointing over at him.

Oh, what the hell, Eli thought to himself. She was obviously a huge fan, might as well go make her night. Eli got out of line and headed over to talk to the girl.

"Hey…" Eli started with a smile. He was going to ask if the girl and the boy who loved her had resolved their problems and what they had done about their feelings. They were both wearing huge smiles, so something good must have happened. That is what he was going to say, but he was not prepared for what happened next.

A woman, about his age, turned around to face him. The girl's mother.

"…Clare…" Eli gasped.

"Wait! My mom is your Clare?" Elisa asked in shock. "MOM! Why didn't you ever tell me that you know Eli Goldsworthy?"

"I, uh… we… went to school together," Clare told her daughter as she kept her eyes focused on Eli.

"Yes, that's right," Eli said,

"But you said-" Elisa started, but was interrupted by Eli.

"Yes, darling, your mother and I went to high school together. She was a year younger, but we were English partners. So smart, your mom is. Best writer in our class," Eli grinned. He couldn't take his eyes off of Clare. She was still so beautiful. Even more than he remembered if that was possible.

"Well, I better let you guys get going. I don't want to keep you," Eli said thoughtfully.

"We should get together and catch up sometime," Clare found herself saying without even realizing it.

"Sure, here's my card," Eli reached in his pocket, pulled out his business card, and wrote his personal cell phone number on the back, then handed it to Clare.

He didn't really expect her to call, but he figured that was what you did when you were reacquainted with and old friend. And if, by chance, she actually did decide to call he wanted her to get him and not his publicist.

"Just call the cell number, you'll never be able to get me at that other number," Eli explained.

"Thanks," Clare smiled shyly. She was sure that her cheeks were as red as a fire engine right now. As much as she wanted to stay and talk with Eli, she had to get out of there. Eli shouldn't be having this effect on her after all this time.

Clare looked down at the card. She rubbed her thumb over Eli's handwriting; it was still the same after all these years.

"I'll call you," Clare pointed to the card and then put it in her purse so she wouldn't lose it. "It was so good to see you, Eli."

Clare paused to look at Eli for a few seconds more, before turning to leave.

Clare and Elisa walked into their house after dropping Seth off.

"Sooooo… Mom, why didn't you ever tell me you knew Eli Goldsworthy? Seems like you were more than just English partners," Elisa asked.

"Well, honey, your father and Eli never really got along. Your father really doesn't like him. And I didn't know that HE was your favorite author. You never told me. I didn't even realize he had gotten so famous. We were really good friends, but it ended badly. I left him when he needed me most, then I started dating your father and I lost touch with Eli after he graduated," Clare was getting lost in her own memories.

"Well you better call him and become friends again! How cool is this? MY MOM knows The Eli Goldsworthy! Mom, you are awesome," Elisa said as she headed to her bedroom, leaving Clare alone in the living room.

Clare was thinking about Eli and how he had been taking over her last two days. She laughed to herself, wondering if her dream was a premonition of tonight. No, Clare didn't believe in that sort of thing. It was just a really strange coincidence.

Just then a phone buzzed. Clare checked her cell phone, but it wasn't that. She looked around and saw a phone on the coffee table. She picked it up and laughed at the text on the screen, "Am I going to get to see you this weekend, stud muffin?"

Junior was always forgetting his phone. This must be the new girlfriend that he and his father were talking about the other day.

Clare was wondering what kind of girl Junior would fall for, and what teenage girl would use the term "stud muffin", when it hit her. Clare dropped the phone. Her knees gave out and she fell to the ground. She felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs and, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath.

This wasn't Junior's phone… This was Jake's phone. Her husband's phone! Clare could not believe her eyes; she HAD to be misreading this whole situation. No, Jake was NOT cheating on her. No. No way. They were married. They were in love; you don't cheat on the woman you love!


	3. Chuggin' Along

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. It might take me a while to post the next one, because it is not finished yet and I can't make up my mind with the order of some of the events. I will work on it, though, and post ASAP. I promise. Also, it might make you happy to know, that I have decided that this is going to be a long story. There is just so much that needs to happen for me to get some closure with it. I hope you stick along for the ride :)**

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><p>It was after midnight when Jake finally made it home. The boys were out camping with Glen for the night and Elisa was already in bed. Clare was sitting on the couch, in the dark, when Jake walked through the door.<p>

"Who is she?" Clare asked simply, she had made up her mind that she wasn't going to yell or scream at him tonight.

"What are you talking about, babe?" Jake walked over to where his wife was sitting and tried to kiss her.

Clare dodged Jake's advanced. He smelled of stale beer. It was obvious that he had been drinking again. Clare was not in the mood to deal with him right now, but she had to know. She couldn't go on living in the dark anymore. Ignorance may be bliss, but now that Clare knew a little, she had to know everything.

"Who is this person that is calling you stud muffin and asking to see you this weekend?" Clare spat, the words tasting like venom.

"Why were you looking at my phone?" Jake was starting to understand the seriousness of the situation now.

"Oh, don't even try to start that. It was on the table. I thought it belonged to one of the boys. It vibrated so I looked at it. If you are going to cheat on me, you should have at least get better at hiding it." Clare wanted to walk away, but she had to know one more thing, "How long? How long has this been going on?"

"About five months," Jake said, defeated. "We met at the bar. I didn't know she had my phone number."

"Were you at least safe? Should I go get checked for STD's?" Clare was surprised at how rational she was being in this moment.

Jake just looked down and didn't answer.

"Wonderful!" Clare picked up her purse and stormed out the front door. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stay in that house right now… with him.

When Clare got to her car she broke down and started crying. She had no idea what to do. She had never imagined that her marriage would end over something as stupid as cheating. She was so embarrassed; there was so way she could tell any of her friends from church. She would call her sister, but Darcy was half a world away. Clare didn't even know if her sister had a phone, let alone what her phone number would be, they only ever communicated through e-mails and video chats.

Clare's last resort was her mother, but she didn't want to wake her up in the middle of the night.

She reached into her purse to search for her keys with the idea of driving around until she cooled off a bit. When she put her hand in her bag, though, she felt a piece of paper. She wondered what it was as she pulled it out and looked it.

"Eli," Clare said out loud.

Clare held his business card in her hand, weighing her options. Could she really call Eli right now? She finally gave in and dialed the number written on the back.

_RING _– Clare started to get nervous. What was she supposed to say? Oh, hey Eli, guess what? My husband – that guy you hated by the way – is cheating on me.

_RING_ – Clare considered hanging up. It was after 1 A.M., Eli was probably sleeping. Why was she even calling him? This was crazy, even for her.

_RING_ – Clare made up her mind. She was hanging up NOW.

"Hello?" a scratchy voice asked from the other end of the phone.

"Oh my goodness, you were sleeping. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called. Forget I called, I'm just going to hang up now," Clare was frantically trying to come up with a reason as to why she would be calling Eli in the middle of the night.

"Clare?" Eli laughed, "When you said you'd call I thought you would at least wait until tomorrow."

Clare started crying again. Of course she shouldn't have called Eli. What the heck was she thinking?

"Are you crying, Clare? I'm sorry, I was just joking," Eli was getting worried. "And I wasn't sleeping. I stay up late writing most nights."

Eli was acting so caring, that just made Clare sob even harder.

"Where are you, Clare? Do you need me to come and get you? Do you need a ride? Are you hurt?" Eli couldn't figure out what to do. This girl that he had loved all his life, and that he hadn't seen in years, besides tonight, was calling him and crying. Eli had no clue what was going on here, but he felt the need to help Clare.

"I could just use someone to talk to," Clare finally calmed down enough to talk.

Eli went against his better judgment. He knew he shouldn't, but this was Clare we are talking about. There would always be a special place in his heart for Clare. It didn't matter how many years or miles separated them.

"Do you want to come over? I'm a really good listener," Eli suggested.

"Would that be alright? I don't want to impose, but I had a horrible night. I just could really use some company right now."

"No problem."

Eli gave Clare his address and promised to wait outside for her to get there.

Care put her key in the ignition and started the car. She put the car in drive and paused. Was she really doing this? Was she really going to Eli's house at one-thirty in the morning? He was waiting for her, she had to go. It wasn't like she had anyone else to talk to right now.

When Clare pulled up in front of Eli's house she saw him standing out front in his dark jeans and a white undershirt, she knew she couldn't chicken out now; he was already walking over to her car. If she was being honest with herself, the sight of Eli actually made her feel better already. Clare wondered how it was possible that anyone could look that good without even trying.

Eli walked up to Clare's car and opened up her door for her. Clare tried to think back if Jake had ever opened a door for her. She was pretty sure that he hadn't. Eli was always such a gentleman.

"Hello beautiful," Eli said before he could stop himself. Damn, Clare was already hurting tonight. He had no idea what was going on with Clare, but acting like a creep probably wasn't going to help.

"Hello, Eli," Clare said, stepping out of her car. "You always know what to say to make a girl smile."

Then Clare smiled. She smiled at him. She said she was having a horrible day and yet she smiled a genuine smile directly at him.

"So, what happened? Why did you call me crying?" Eli asked as he led Clare up his front walk and into his house.

Clare ignored Eli's questions. She wasn't ready to talk about that just yet.

"You live alone?" Clare asked as she looked around Eli's living room. It was clear that there was not a woman living here.

Clare walked over and plopped herself down on Eli's black leather sofa.

"Yeah, Adam and I used to live together, but we figured we were getting a little old to have roommates. Plus, I don't think Adam's wife would enjoy me cramping their style."

"Adam is married? Since when?" Clare was trying to think back to the last time she talked to Adam. Had it really been that long?

"Only a few months now, but she's perfect for him. They met last year at a comic book convention. She's cute too."

"No wife for you? No girlfriend?" Clare looked around for pictures, or anything else that would give it away. The only picture in the living room was one of Eli, Cece, and Bullfrog with huge smiles on their faces. Eli was wearing a graduation cap and gown, but it wasn't from his Degrassi graduation. It must have been from college.

"Is it that obvious? No, no girlfriend. After the way I treated Imogen, I never really felt like I deserved any love. Sure, I dated, but whenever things got serious I always ended up bailing. I figure I'm good on my own. Much less drama and much more time for writing. Cece hated it, though. She keeps asking when I'm going to give her grandbabies. My mother is something else…"

"What happened with Imogen?" Clare was curious now. She didn't know they dated, she thought they were just friends.

"Oh, we had a little problem where I kind of lost my mind and treated her really poorly. She really liked me and I just used her and threw her away. Then when I got better, I realized how awesome she was and begged her for another chance. I was lucky she forgave me. We needed each other. We dated for a while, but then she developed feelings for someone else. We realized that we weren't meant to be and went our separate ways. We stayed friends, though. We still love and care about each other, it just wasn't right for us to be together romantically anymore," Eli explained.

"So who was the other guy Imogen fell for?" Clare was genuinely interested.

Eli couldn't help the huge grin that spread across his face, "It wasn't another guy. She fell for Fiona."

"Oh," Clare looked directly in Eli's eyes and just started cracking up. "Imogen really left you for a girl? And Fiona none-the-less wasn't she your friend?"

"Yeah," Eli laughed. He couldn't help himself, Clare's laugh was infectious.

When their laughter finally subsided Eli asked, "I thought we were here to talk about you, Edwards."

"You are much more interesting, Mr. Famous Author," Clare said as she put her left hand over Eli's. He looked down and noticed her wedding ring.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Your name isn't Edwards anymore, is it? I completely forgot," Eli panicked.

"No, it's fine. I miss that. Call me Edwards all you want."

"So, where did you end up going to college, Edwards?" Eli asked, making sure to put careful emphasis on her former last name.

"Oh, I, uh, I went to U of T, but never graduated." Clare was embarrassed. She hated that she didn't get to finish school.

"I'm sorry," Eli should have guessed. Clare's daughter was at least a teenager. She must have dropped out when she got pregnant.

"Stop apologizing. It's not your fault. Where did you end up going to school?" Clare inquired.

"I did my undergrad at U of T. Then I went to grad school at NYU. Fiona made me apply and when I got in she begged me to go. She had moved back to New York after high school and I guess she just missed me too much. It was actually the best thing for me. I met my publisher when I lived down there and he was so vital when it came to getting my first book out there. He made me what I am today. Without him I'd probably be stuck in some boring nine to five job and hating my life right now." Eli talked passionately about his past. It made Clare feel a bit proud of him for actually accomplishing his dreams.

"I'm sure you wouldn't. Someone else would have come along and published your books. You were always such an amazing writer, Eli; I'm not surprised you ended up as a famous author. I can't believe my daughter is in love with you and I never even realized it," Clare chuckled. It really was a crazy turn of events.

"Your daughter is adorable, she reminds me so much of you when we were that age."

"She keeps me sane. I'm glad I had her first. My boys can be such a handful!"

"Wow, how many kids do you have?" Eli asked in shock.

"Well, there is Elisa, you met her. She's the oldest and my only girl. Then there are my boys: Junior, Thomas, and Daniel. They are all exactly like their father."

Who was their father? Eli really wanted to know, but he didn't want to ask. He wasn't ready to hear it.

"How old are they?" he asked instead.

"Fifteen, Fourteen, Thirteen, and Twelve."

"Oh wow. That's really close together."

"Yeah, while everyone else was finishing college and finding jobs, I was pregnant and raising babies. Elisa, obviously, wasn't planned. They others weren't either, but after the first we figure, why stop now? I always wanted a big family, no sense in waiting."

"You've changed." Eli said thoughtfully.

"Well, I would hope so. You haven't seen me in, what, seventeen years?"

"No, I mean, well… You're prettier, for one. If that is even possible." Eli paused to admire the blush that was spreading across Clare's cheeks, "And you've matured. A lot. You are so grown up."

"Side effect of having children, I guess. I had to grow up quick." Clare shrugged.

"I would have never guessed that you were the mother of four teenagers."

Eli looked at Clare, studying her face and trying to figure out what was wrong. Why had she called him? Why was she sitting in front of him, in his living room, in the middle of the night?

"Can I ask you something, Clare?"

"Anything."

"Not to be rude, but why are you here right now? Why aren't you with your family?"

Clare started tearing up and Eli knew that he had hit the million dollar question.

"What is the problem, sweetheart? Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Is there something wrong with one of your children?"

"No," Clare sniffed and shook her head. "Nothing worse than teenage hormones."

"Yes, I saw that with Elisa and her boyfriend at my book signing."

Clare gave him a confused look.

"Nevermind. What's wrong? Please tell me, I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Clare sighed. She had already exhausted all of her aversion tactics. She didn't want to admit what had happened, not even to herself, but Eli was being so sweet and understanding. She had to get it out. She had to talk to someone about it; it might as well be him.

"I just found out." Clare started. "Jake, my husband, has been cheating on me."

"Oh, Clare," Eli's heart broke for her. He never liked that asshole, Jake. Clare deserved so much better than someone that would knock her up before she was married and had a chance to finish school. And now he is cheating on her? That was completely uncalled for.

"It was with some girl that he met at a bar. It's been going on for months now, I guess. What if he got an STD and gave it to me?"

"You can go to the doctors and get checked. I can take you, if you want."

"I may take you up on that offer. I really need support and a friend right now."

"You know I would do anything for you, Clare. I'm here for you," Eli promised. "Not in a crazy, suffocating way, I promise." He quickly added, thinking back to when he was sixteen. "Just, I'll be here for you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"I know, I know you are not a crazy or suffocating person. I was stupid to ever call you those things. I wanted to apologize, but I got so wrapped up in my relationship with Jake that I never had a chance. Then you graduated and I never saw you again. You know, I had a dream about you yesterday. I think I was meant to meet you tonight. God knew I would need your support to get me through this."

"Well, I don't know about God, but that seems like an unbelievable coincidence."

"Still the Atheist, I see." Clare laughed through her tears.

"I prefer Agnostic these days. Way too many variables for me to know for sure."

Clare didn't know why, but Eli saying that made her heart a little less heavy. Their religious differences had always been a problem for her when they were younger. Now, she was more open and accepting about other people's religion, but the fact that he was now a little more accepting of the idea of God made her smile.

It was always so easy talking to Eli. Clare wasn't sure if it was her dream making her think, or the fact that her marriage was basically over, or that Eli was being so nice to her when she knew she didn't deserve it, but Clare wondered how she had been so blind back then. She was thinking about what her life would be like if she had ended up with Eli instead of Jake. Eli would have made a much better husband than Jake ever did.

"Sometimes I wish I could take it all back." Clare didn't even mean to say that out loud.

"Take what back?" Eli asked, confused.

"Everything. All of it. Hurting you, dating Jake, giving it all up and having to have a shot-gun wedding. It was horrible, Eli! My wedding was NOTHING like I had ever pictured it would be. It was barely even a wedding. We just went down to the courthouse and signed some papers. I didn't even wear a dress. I was pregnant, the only thing that fit were sweatpants. I got married in sweatpants!" Clare sighed; she had never told anyone that little fact. She was so embarrassed that she wore sweatpants to her own wedding.

"Clare, you can't take it back. It happened. It made you who you are today. I'm sure it was all worth it. Without all of that happening to you then you wouldn't have your children. I bet you are a wonderful mom. I'm sure you would never want to give up your children."

Care sniffled, "You're right. I love my children more than anything else in this entire world, but now my marriage is failing and I have no idea what to do."

"If the world was always perfect and happy then it would be a very boring place to live. Things fall apart all the time. Things break. If it is meant to be then it will find a way to work itself out. Cheating doesn't have to be the end, maybe you could work it out?" Eli suggested.

"No, I don't want to work it out. Maybe if it was a onetime thing I could get past it, but not when it has been going on for at least five months. We have been unhappy for a very long time. Jake never wanted to try. In fact, I'm pretty sure he never wanted to get married. I think I was only holding it together so long for the kids, but repeated cheating is the last straw. I can't deal with being lied to." Clare explained. She was trying not to get too worked up again.

"Then you will do what you have to. You are a strong person and none of this is your fault."

Clare was quiet for a long while. She was starting to think about what this whole thing would entail. First off, she would have to talk with Jake and tell him that she wanted a divorce. That's wasn't even going to be the toughest part. How was she going to face her kids and tell them that their parents were getting divorced? How was she going to be able to continue on with her life as a divorced woman? Clare never, ever, in her entire life, pictured that her marriage would end in divorce. Clare was starting to understand what her mom had gone through all those years ago.

"I should apologize to my mother," Clare said, breaking the silence.

"It's not your fault that this happened, Clare. I'm sure your mom will understand that." Eli was trying to be as helpful as he could. Clare really shouldn't be blaming herself for this.

"No, not for this. For how I treated her when she was going through her divorce. I was so horrible to her. She never deserved any of that. It wasn't her fault that my dad cheated on her. I see that now."

Eli's eyes widened in shock, "I never knew that was what happened. I'm so sorry. You should talk to your mom. If anyone understands what you are going through right now, it's her."

"You're right. I should have just called her. I'm sorry, Eli. I shouldn't have bothered you," Clare started to stand up from the couch.

"Now you know that is not what I meant," Eli grabbed her hand gently to get her to sit back down. "You don't have to leave. I'm happy I can be here for you. I don't mind talking to you. I enjoy it, actually. Usually no one else stays awake this late. Sometimes I get lost in my writing; it's nice to not think about that for a little while. I just wish it was under better circumstances. You don't deserve any of this crap, Clare."

Clare couldn't hold back. She lunged forward and hugged Eli. She had forgotten how nice a simple hug felt. Jake was never one for hugging – he always wanted more – and her kids were getting so old now that they rarely ever hugged her anymore. Clare melted into Eli's embrace and stayed there for a very long time.

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><p><strong>This chapter is dedicated to one of my friends from high school. I know she will never read it, but Clare's wedding is based on her wedding. She wasn't pregnant, but she had to have a quick wedding for other reasons. I will never forget when she told me about stopping by the courthouse and getting married in shorts and flip flops.<strong>


	4. Cheater, Cheater

It was eight in the morning when Clare finally made it back to her house. She stopped and picked up bagels on her way home in hopes that, if her daughter was awake already, bagels might distract from the fact that Clare had not spent the night at home. Clare opened the front door and sure enough Elisa was on the couch watching television.

"Hey, Leelee, what are you doing up so early on a Saturday?" Clare asked her daughter. "How long have you been awake?"

"I just got up. Seth wants to do something early today, he won't tell me what, though." Elisa told her mom.

"Oh, that's nice," Good, Clare thought, she just woke up. Maybe Clare could play it off for now. "I went to get some bagels for breakfast. Have you heard from your brothers yet? Do you know when they might be coming home?"

"No, I haven't heard anything. Thanks for breakfast, Mom," Elisa said as she reached in the bag and pulled out an everything bagel and the tub of cream cheese, "but Mom?"

"Yes, darling?" Clare was busying herself with taking off her shoes and hanging up her sweater.

"Where's Dad?"

Clare would have sworn that her heart stopped, "He's not in bed still?"

"No, I was looking for you to ask about going out with Seth today and I couldn't find anyone. I searched the entire house; I even checked the garage and the shed. No one was home. I got a little scared," Elisa explained.

This is not good, Clare thought. If Jake wasn't still in bed then that meant that he did not spend the night at home. Clare knew Jake never woke up early on Saturday mornings. He must have left after she did last night.

"Oh, I don't know, honey, maybe he got up early to go fishing today." Clare had to think of something quick. That sounded like a reasonable excuse.

Elisa seemed to accept Clare's explanation. She took her bagel and headed to her bedroom to get ready to meet Seth.

Elisa stared at her closet. She wondered when all of her clothes had become so awful. Usually she didn't pay much attention to what she wore when she hung out with Seth, but now everything was different. He had professed his love for her last night and now she wanted to do the same. She did love him, she finally realized. She wondered how she had never realized it before. He was always just there, she had never had to think about it before, but now just the thought of losing him was breaking her heart. She rationalized that was exactly what love must be.

Elisa finally settled on a light blue sundress that was hanging in the back of her closet. It was something that her mother had bought her that she had never worn. It was extremely different from the jeans and t-shirts that she usually wore. She hoped that Seth would like it.

When Elisa opened her front door for Seth he gasped. He had never seen his best friend in a dress. It was a bit out of character for her, but she looked beautiful no matter what.

"You are dressed up! Were you expecting a brunch with the pope?" Seth said looking around behind his back jokingly.

"No, Seth-y, just you."

After Elisa left to hang out with Seth for the day, Clare went to work cleaning her entire house. She needed to talk to Jake and she was determined that she was not going to leave the house until she did. Cleaning helped to keep her mind focused on something productive and helped to keep her from breaking down and crying every five minutes.

Clare started in the kitchen. She methodically scrubbed down all the cabinets and the counter tops. She cleaned each appliance inside and out, then she moved onto the floor. She was down on her hands and knees and was taking out her aggression on the pesky dirt that had built up in the corners.

Clare had finished the kitchen and moved on to the bathroom, when she heard the front door open and close. Her heart started racing and she dropped the rag she was using to clean. She knew that it was now or never. She had to talk to Jake. She had to get her feelings out in the open.

She walked out into the living room to meet her husband. She was wearing ratty clothes and her hair was a mess, but what did it matter? This wasn't the type of conversation that you needed to get dressed up for.

Jake was sitting on the couch. The television was off and his phone was laid out on the table in front of him. He was obviously expecting Clare to want to talk and he was just waiting patiently for her to come to him.

"Jake," Clare started and then stopped. She was unsure of how to proceed. How do you tell your husband of fifteen years that you want a divorce?

"Clare," Jake greeted her. He was hoping she would continue he didn't really have anything to say.

"Why?" was all that Clare could get out. It didn't really matter at this point, but it had been eating at her all night long. She just had to know.

"The business had been doing pretty shitty lately. After particularly bad days I started going to the bar after work to have a drink and relax," Jake explained flatly.

"Okay… and why would that lead to you cheating on me?" Clare pushed. She knew that part already; she just couldn't make a connection from a rough day at work to cheating on your wife.

"Well… I met this girl one night. I was drunk, really drunk, and I kind of just ended up going home with her. I didn't set out to have an affair or even cheat on you," Jake was trying to figure out if he could say anything to make this better.

"An affair… that makes it sound even worse, but that's what it was, wasn't it?" Clare could feel her heart breaking even more. She didn't know that was possible, but that one little word just pushed her over the edge.

"Yes. The next morning I swore to myself I would never do it again. That would be it. I would pretend it never happened and stay with you."

"What happened? I might have been able to forgive a onetime thing, but this sounds like it was very far from a onetime thing," Clare really did not want to get divorced. She would have liked to work things out, but she could not handle going back to him after he had an affair. She would always wonder if he had someone else.

"Well, it happened again the next week and I enjoyed it. You weren't satisfying me, so I had to look for sex elsewhere."

"Not satisfying you? NOT SATISFYING YOU?" Clare was starting to lose her cool now. That was it. She was pissed now. Her voice was rising with each word that she spoke. She could not believe what she was hearing. "I birthed and raised your children. I take care of you and the kids. I have meals on the table every day and I take care of this house with no help from anyone else. I have been with you and faithful to you since I was SIXTEEN years old! But supposedly I don't satisfy you, so that must make cheating on me all okay."

"Clare, stop. You are a wonderful mother, but the past few years you have been slacking as a wife," Jake did not realize that everything he was saying was just digging him even further into a hole.

"WHAT?" Clare screamed. That was the most shocking thing she had ever heard in her entire life.

"I mean, like, in bed," Jake tried to clarify.

"So you mean that having sex with you almost every time you ask isn't satisfying to you?" Clare spat back.

Jake didn't say anything. He finally realized that if he opened his mouth that he would only make it worse right now.

"If you want to talk about not being satisfied, there is a whole lot I could tell you about that. You have rarely ever satisfied me in the bedroom department. 'Hey, let's do it' is NOT a huge turn on for most girls, sorry to burst that delusion for you." Clare was at least happy that her children weren't home to hear the way they were talking to each other right now. She was positive that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if they heard her say that.

Jake rolled his eyes and Clare took a deep breath to try and calm herself back down a bit.

"Do you even care about me anymore?" Clare asked.

"Of course," Jake liked the way this was headed now. Clare could change directions with her feelings in a snap, maybe this was a good sign.

"I know we've been having a rough time with the business and everything, but I thought that you and me were doing okay. I guess I was just being delusional. How could I not have known for so long?" Clare sounded defeated.

"Are you going to give me a second chance?" Jake was hopeful, but he knew it was probably a long shot.

"Where were you last night and this morning?" Clare asked flatly.

Jake didn't answer. There was no point. She wouldn't want to hear the truth.

"No. I don't think I could handle giving you a second chance. I can't trust you and I do not have any faith that you want to make our marriage work anymore."

"So, we are separating then?" Jake asked. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He had always known it was a possibility, but he never thought that Clare would actually be strong enough to leave him.

"I guess we are. I never, ever thought this would happen to me. What are we supposed to tell the kids? This will seem so out of the blue for them. At least, with my parents, they were fighting all the time and I sort of knew it was coming, not that it made it any easier. I never wanted this for my children! Why did you do this to us?" Clare was starting to raise her voice again. She was so upset and she still couldn't understand why this had happened to her.

Jake hung his head in shame, "I'm sorry, Clare. I was stupid, but we've been together since I was seventeen. We got married when I was twenty. I feel like I missed out on my wild years! I guess I had to make up for it sometime."

"How do you think I feel, Jacob? I was pregnant while all of my friends were partying and enjoying college. Even you went to school and got to have fun with your friends. I never even had a chance to finish school!"

"We got married way too young," Jake tried to rationalize.

"Maybe we wouldn't have had to if you didn't get me pregnant when I was nineteen years old. I was still a kid; I wasn't ready to have children!"

"Hey, it took both of us to make that baby!" Jake defended.

"Yes, and I take full responsibility for my part of it, but let's be fair here. You are the one that convinced me to stop using condoms because 'they just don't feel as good'. Man was I dumb. I love our children, but right now I wish I had never even dated you," Clare told Jake.

"We need to figure out what this means. Do you want me to leave? What about money? Who are the kids going to live with?" Jake was sick of arguing. Time to work out the logistics and form some sort of plan. Once he had a plan then maybe it would be easier to move on with his life.

"If you are offering to move out, then yes. The kids can stay here with me and you can see them whenever you want. That would probably be the best, but I don't want to do that until we tell the kids. As for money, I'll still need help supporting the kids, but I guess I will have to get a job to support myself," Clare was sure that she was having a nightmare right now. It was not possible that she was actually going through with this separation.

"Clare, I don't want this to be over," Jake thought he would try one last time to work this out. The thought of leaving his kids made everything seem so real. He was getting scared now.

"Neither do I, Jake, but you should have thought about that before you screwed some bar girl. It is your own damn fault, so I really don't care how you feel about it. We have to do this, or I would never be able to live with myself if I stayed with you."

Jake closed his eyes and put his head in his hands.

"Okay, I'm just going to get changed and go. I'll let you get some rest and let this sink in. I'll be home later and we can figure out how to tell the kids," Clare said and left Jake alone in the living room.

Less than twenty minutes later, Clare was standing on the front steps of her childhood house. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. She couldn't believe how much had changed in the last twenty years, and yet this house had stayed the same.

"Oh, Clare, honey. Glen and the boys aren't back yet," Clare's mom told her.

"I know, Mom. I'm here because I need to talk to you," Clare wanted to continue, but she couldn't. She broke down sobbing right there on the front steps of her mother's house.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Helen asked her grown daughter as she drew her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry!" Clare sobbed.

"For what? What's wrong?" Helen asked feeling very confused. It was so out of character for her daughter to show up and start crying. Clare didn't like for anyone to see her cry.

"I treated you so horribly when you and dad got divorced. And then when you married Glen. I am so sorry. You didn't deserve that. Dad cheated on you, you didn't do anything wrong," Clare explained tearfully.

"Thank you for the apology, Clare, but where is this coming from? After all these years I thought we had moved past this. What made you want to bring this up?" Helen was still feeling pretty confused.

Clare sniffed. She didn't want to tell her mother, she didn't want this to cause problems with the family, but there was no way she was staying with Jake after this whole mess. It would come out some time, might as well be right now.

"Mom… Jake has been cheating on me. I just found out last night," Clare admitted.

"Jake is my step-son, and I love him, but I can't say that I am surprised," Helen told her daughter as she ushered her into the house.

Clare gave her mother a quizzical look, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I prayed that nothing like this would ever happen to you, but I know how Jacob is. I have known him since he was a little boy and he has never been big on commitment. I was happily surprised when you two got married and I hoped that would be the end of his running around on girls, but I guess not." Helen explained.

"What am I supposed to do now, Mom? How am I supposed to go on with my life after this? How am I going to face Glen and people at church and the kids?" Clare frantically asked.

"You just do. You take it one day at a time. The people that love you will understand and the people who don't understand are not worth your time anyway. As for Glen, he will understand completely; maybe better than anyone else," Helen paused so Clare could let everything set in a bit. "It will be difficult, but we will all make it through this together. Right now you just need people who care about you and who will stick by your side. If I could make it through my divorce than you can do this too. You are a strong woman, Clare. Just remember that Jake will still be in your life forever. You cannot escape him. He is both your step-brother and the father of your children. The quicker you learn to accept that, the easier your life will be."

Clare was happy that she came to talk to her mom. She knew that her mother would love and support her no matter what. Everything that Helen was saying made total sense to Clare, but there was one part in particular that stood out. The part about needing people that will stick by her side made Clare think of only one person. The one person who would always be there for her, and coincidently, he was the one person that she had written out of her life years ago. She was so lucky that he had reappeared in her life; she needed him more than ever now.

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><p><strong>I hope that I didn't make light of this chapter. I am not extremely happy with how it turned out. Divorce is not an easy subject to write about and I apologize if this chapter offends anyone, that was obviously not my intent. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I will continue working on the next chapter and update asap :)<strong>


	5. Better Than I Used To Be

**Sorry for the delay. Enjoy. I really hope it was worth the wait :) Let me know what you all think.**

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><p>Elisa stood outside her front door with Seth. It was seven o'clock at night, well past dinner time, but she was sure her mother wouldn't mind. She had just gotten so caught up in spending the day with Seth that she lost track of everything else.<p>

"I had an amazing time with you today, Seth-y. Thank you again for lunch AND dinner," Elisa smiled at her brand new boyfriend. "It was so nice of you, but I just want you to know that you don't have to do that all the time. I mean, don't think I expect it. I just love spending time with you." Elisa leaned in and kissed Seth on the cheek.

"Okay, my love. You better get inside before your parents start to think that I kidnapped you," Seth laughed and pulled his girlfriend in for a hug. He held her tight, kissed her, then turned her around and sent her towards her house. "I love you and I will call you when I get home."

Elisa stood on her doorstep and smiled as she watched Seth walk away. When he turned around to wave one last time Elisa's heart melted. She was so in love and she hoped it would never end.

Elisa was sure that this was the best weekend of her life thus far. Her only regret was that she hadn't realized and started dating Seth earlier. At least she had realized it now and she had Eli Goldsworthy to thank for it. The Eli freaking Goldsworthy set her up with her boyfriend. How many girls could say that their favorite author had helped them realize the love of their life?

Elisa smiled to herself as she opened the front door. She walked inside to find her parents sitting in silence on opposite sides of the couch.

"Where have you been?" Jake asked Elisa, flatly.

"I, uh, I was out with Seth. I told mom!" Elisa was getting defensive. There was no way she was getting in trouble for this. If her father was going to be ridiculous about this then she was going to give it right back to him. She was sick of her father not approving of Seth. Elisa looked at her mother as if begging for help.

"Jacob, leave your daughter alone. She was out with friends. I told her she could go. Please do not take this out on the kids. They did nothing wrong," Clare defended her daughter.

"Wait," Elisa wasn't sure what it was, but she could tell that something wasn't right with her parents. "What is going on? Did I do something wrong?"

"No! Honey, no," Clare's heart was breaking. "No, you did nothing wrong. Did you have a good day?" Clare tried to force a smile and change the subject.

"Yeah, but Mom, just… Please tell me what is wrong," Elisa begged.

Clare looked over at Jake. He was just staring blankly at the wall. He was going to be no help. Clare sighed and thought for a moment. She might as well tell Elisa now, no sense in waiting.

"We were going to wait until you brothers got home…" Clare started.

"Just tell me!" Elisa yelled.

"Your father and I are separating. It has nothing to do with you kids," Clare reiterated. She looked over at Jake contemplating what she should say next. His head was hung in shame. It would be so easy to blame everything on him, but that was not fair. Clare didn't want her children to know. There was no reason for the kids to find out that Jake had cheated. "We just… we have just grown apart."

Jake looked up, confused. He had fully been expecting Clare to blame him for everything. When she didn't, he could not help but feel grateful. He started to remember why he loved Clare. She was always so kind; even when people didn't deserve it. Jake was starting to regret everything he had done to hurt her. He was so grateful that she wasn't going to tell the kids what he did. He was positive they would never forgive him if they found out.

"Oh," Elisa questioned. "Oh, that's it? I thought someone was dying from the way you two were acting."

Clare and Jake looked at each other. They were both extremely shocked.

"What do you mean 'that's all'? Do you understand what I told you?" Clare asked.

"Yeah, you and Dad are getting divorced. I mean, it sucks, but bad things happen. Seth's parents are divorced. A lot of the kids in my class have divorced parents. It's not that big of a deal, really. If it makes you guys happy, then I'm sure we will be fine." Elisa explained her feelings to her parents.

Clare had no idea what to say. This was not the reaction she was expecting at all; maybe Elisa wasn't as similar to Clare as she had originally thought.

Just then Elisa's phone rang. "Is that all? Can I go now?" Elisa asked as sweetly as she could muster.

Clare didn't answer. She was still in a bit of shock over Elisa's reaction.

Jake cleared his throat, "Yes, go ahead."

After Elias left the room, Jake broke out in a fit of laughter.

"What are you laughing about?" Clare scoffed.

"Did you expect that reaction? Are we sure she is YOUR daughter?" Jake laughed some more.

Clare shot him a dirty look, but as soon as she thought about it, Clare couldn't help but laugh also. Jake was a little right. Clare would have overreacted to this. Clare actually did overreact to this same news when she was Elisa's age.

"Well, you certainly cannot deny her right now. She sounded exactly like you back there." Clare countered.

"I'm going to miss you," Jake blurted out once their laughter died down.

Clare hung her head in frustration then looked up at her husband. "Let's not get into this again. It will just hurt even more. I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to get over this and I don't want to hate you. You will be in my life still no matter what, so we might as well start being civil to each other right now," Clare explained.

"That is very mature of you. I did love you, you know that, right?" Jake pushed.

"Yes, sure. If you say so then I believe you. Just please stop talking about this right now. The decision has been made, let's move on. We had a good run," Clare explained. "Now let's figure out how to tell the boys. I am not so sure that they will take it as well as our lovely daughter has."

"Why don't you take Elisa out and make sure she is alright? I can tell the boys," Jake offered. "They will probably take it better coming from me, and you shouldn't have to keep going through this."

Clare gave him a suspicious look.

"Oh, come on. I would never say anything bad about you to the kids. What could I possibly say anyway? You didn't do anything wrong." Jake tried to placate Clare.

"Well, I guess I could… are you sure we shouldn't tell the boys together? Won't it seem like I don't want to face them?" Clare asked.

"It's okay. I will handle it. I promise. Just let me do this one last thing for you," Jake insisted.

"Alright. I guess, but only if Elisa wants to go out," Clare conceded.

Clare found Elisa sitting on her bed, talking on the phone and giggling. She had never seen her daughter act this way before. It had to be about a boy.

Clare knocked softly on the open door, "Leelee, darling, how are you doing?"

Elisa just pointed to the cell phone pressed to her ear and gave her mom a thumbs up.

"Sorry to interrupt, but how about I take you for ice cream? They should still be open," Clare suggested.

"Can Seth come?" Elisa blurted out as her face lit up.

"Of course Seth can come," Oh, it all made sense to Clare now. Elisa and Seth must be more than just friends as of recently. That is why Elisa spent the whole day out with him and came home with a smile plastered on her face and that's why she was giggling on the phone just now. This had to be what Eli was talking about when she mentioned teenage hormones. Clare made a mental note to find out more and then went to grab a sweater before meeting Elisa at the front door.

When they got in the car, Elisa was fidgeting and acting nervous. Clare could tell that something was up.

"Did you want to talk about your father and me splitting up? I know this is probably hard on you."

"Oh, no, it's not that. It's just... it's… I wanted to ask you something." Elisa stumbled over her words. She was obviously nervous about whatever it was she wanted to know.

"You know you can ask me and tell me anything. Is it about Seth?" Clare smiled knowingly at her daughter.

Elisa blushed, "No," she giggled. "I was hoping you would call Eli! I mean, he gave you his phone number he obviously wants you to call him. Could you please, Mom? Please?"

Clare laughed. She couldn't help herself. This was not the question she was expecting at all. Her daughter was full of surprises today.

"And when should I call him? Am I supposed to set up a date between my old friend and my teenage daughter? What would Seth think?" Clare couldn't help but make jokes right now, "Did you want me to find some place with candles and mood music?"

"Moooooooooomm!"

"Oh, calm down, you know I'm joking. I think it would be okay to set something up. If I know Eli, he would probably love to chat with his biggest fan. Eli always had somewhat of an ego," Clare smiled as she thought back to her high school English classes with Eli as her English partner.

"How about now!" Elisa asked as Clare parked the car in front of Seth's house.

"He is probably busy right now. He is a famous author; don't you think we should give him a little time to prepare before you ambush him?"

"No, invite him for ice cream. It could be like a double date!" Elisa grinned. "If he is busy then we can make a plan for some other time."

"ELISA! Your father and I JUST separated. I am not going on a double date with Eli and my daughter right now," Clare could barely believe the conversation she was having right now.

"What, are you too chicken?" Elisa taunted.

"No, I just do not think it would be very appropriate. That is all," Clare explained as calmly as she could.

"I was only joking about the date thing. God, Mom, just call him," Elisa begged.

"Call who?" Seth asked as he climbed into the back seat of Clare's car.

"I want her to call Eli!" Elisa explained excitedly.

Clare rolled her eyes as she dug through her purse looking for Eli's card. She pulled it out and looked at the number scrawled on the back. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to call Eli for the second time in two days. She hoped that he wouldn't mind. Who was she kidding? This was Eli we're talking about. She knew he wouldn't mind, especially if it was her daughter asking this time.

Clare dialed his number and this time Eli answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Clare, what's up? Is everything okay?" a worried Eli asked from the other end of the phone line.

"Hello Eli. I am sitting in the car with my daughter and her boyfriend. They were wondering if you would like to join us for ice cream so they can fawn all over you some more." Clare emphasized the word boyfriend to let Elisa and Seth know that she knew about them. If Elisa was going to make Clare call Eli than Clare was going to embarrass her daughter while she had the chance. That was part of her job as a mother, after all.

"But if you are busy we certainly understand," Clare added so he wouldn't feel obligated.

"Oh, I would love to come! You know how much I love the attention," Eli said over the phone, but Clare could just picture the smug smirk that was most likely plastered on his face. "What time, darling?"

"We are on our way. If you would like, I can pick you up. Are you home?" Clare asked. She momentarily forgot the kids were in the car with her. Thinking about his smirk made her excited to see it again in person. She had to admit, she was excited that she had an excuse to see Eli again.

"Oh, yes. I would love for you to drive me around. I just hope that you are better at it than you were at sixteen," Eli laughed. "If I'm not outside waiting, just give me a few minutes. I need to get cleaned up and changed."

Eli hung up the phone before Clare could say anything else. She was left with a dreamy look on her face and a light heart. Seeing Eli was exactly what she needed right now. He always had a knack for making her feel better.

When Clare pulled on to Eli's street, she could already see him standing outside. She should have known that he would be waiting for her. He wouldn't ever want to inconvenience anyone by making them wait for him.

As she drove closer to his house, she could tell that his hair was still wet and he had slicked it back off of his forehead. Clare kind of liked this new look. He must have just rushed through a very quick shower and gotten dressed in a hurry just so he could be ready when she arrived.

"Wow, that's Eli's house?" Elisa asked. "It's so… normal. Shouldn't he live in, like, a mansion or something? He's rich and famous. I did not picture him living like a normal person."

"Eli was never one to show off. He may have a big ego sometimes, but only with people he trusts and cares about," Clare explained.

Eli opened the door to get in the back seat of Clare's car.

"Elisa, get in the back, please. Do not make Eli sit back there," Clare asked her daughter.

"No, no, I'm fine in the back. Stay where you are, honey," Eli said as he climbed in the seat behind Elisa.

Clare rolled her eyes. Eli was over doing it with the nice act. She had honestly just wanted to sit next to him, and now he had ruined that. At least they still had the rest of the evening to make up for it. Clare shook her head. These were inappropriate thoughts she was having. She shouldn't be thinking about Eli this way. He was only here for her daughter. Plus, she was technically still married, she shouldn't be thinking about other men right now.

"What are you rolling your eyes at, Edwards?" Eli asked as he made a show out of buckling his seatbelt.

Elisa shot Clare a questioning glance at hearing her mom called by her maiden name, but Clare ignored it. The rest of the drive to the ice cream shop was filled with idle chatter, but Clare ignored all of that and just kept thinking about Eli. Every time she heard his voice her heart started to flutter. She wasn't even listening to what he was saying, but just having him so close was driving her crazy right now.

Before they even arrived at the ice cream place, Clare should have known that Eli wouldn't let her pay for anything. That is just how Eli was. It was just his nature to do anything to make the people he cared about happy. It was obvious that, no matter how much time and distance had come between them, that Eli still cared about her.

Once everyone was settled with their ice cream, Elisa and Seth decided that it was time to bombard Eli with questions. After about fifteen minutes and the fifth question about the newest book – and his new character, Clara – Clare figured she should stop them before her daughter made the connection between Clara and Clare.

"Okay, that's enough. Why don't we let Eli actually eat his ice cream instead of letting it melt all over the place," Clare insisted, trying to turn the conversation.

Eli laughed. He knew Clare had picked up on the Clara connection, but he loved watching her squirm. "I don't mind at all," he said and smirked at Clare.

Clare hated this. Why was he taunting her so? He always did stuff like this to her. Okay, maybe she didn't really HATE it. She had to admit that it did bring her back to her high school days. Clare absolutely loved all of the secret flirting that Eli was doing tonight. She just hoped that her daughter would not catch on. That was the last thing Clare needed right now. Elisa was already claiming this to be a double date. Clare did not want it getting out that she was "dating" already, even if it was just her and her daughter catching up with an old friend.

"How about a new subject? Hearing all about Eli is starting to get a little boring," Clare said as she shot him a smirk of her own. "Why don't we let Leelee tell us all about her new relationship?" Clare enjoyed watching her daughter's face turn three different shades of pink.

"Oh, yes!" Eli joined in. He was actually very interested in what happened between Elisa and Seth after he met them at his book signing. Obviously some good had come from his butting in.

"Mom, please, no," Elisa begged Clare. Elisa did not want to have this conversation.

"Come on, Eli. Just get it over with," Seth told Elisa softly.

"Wait!" Eli interrupted. "What did you just call her?"

"I, um, I call her Eli. I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, no, it's just funny is all," Eli smirked at Clare and when she gave him a questioning look he leaned over and whispered into her ear, "I bet her father just LOVES that."

After Clare got over the initial shock of Eli's hot breath in her ear, she was shocked again at how perceptive Eli was. Of course he would know how Jake felt about him.

"Okay, let's hear about Elisa's and Seth's love story," Eli demanded.

As much as Elisa didn't want to talk about this, she could not refuse a request from Eli. She wasn't sure if she would ever get a chance to hang out with him like this again. There was no way she was going to screw this up.

On the way home Eli decided to sit up front with Clare. Clare was trying to figure out what to do. She really wanted to spend more time with Eli, but there was no way she could say or do anything in front of Elisa and Seth. Suddenly and idea hit her. It was so simple. She would just drop Seth off first.

When they got to Seth's house he started to get of the car and Clare stopped him, "Hold on. Elisa, why don't you walk Seth to his door? I promise we won't look. Just pretend we aren't here."

"Okay…" Elisa was confused, but she was not going to argue over being told to spend a few more minutes with her boyfriend.

When they go out and closed the door Eli asked Clare, "Isn't the boy supposed to walk the girl to her door, not the other way around? Or am I really that out of touch with reality now?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just wanted a few minutes alone with you, and I'm sure Elisa doesn't mind making out with Seth some more," Clare said as she pointed out the window behind her towards Seth's door.

Eli was shocked when he looked and saw that Clare's prediction was correct. Elisa was basically tackling Seth.

"Enough about them, I want to talk to you quick before Elisa gets back," Clare pushed and Eli just stared back at her. "Well, I don't know how to put this, so I'll just say it… I want to spend more time with you. I know I shouldn't be asking that of you. I know I really do not deserve your time, I just hope that I am not making a fool out of myself right now. I hope you feel kind of the same way. I know this is crazy, and sudden, and I am moving really fast, but I really miss this. I miss you. I miss being able to talk to you."

"Relax," Eli put his hand on Clare's and she immediately shut up. He finally understood where Clare was going with this whole charade. "I would love to spend more time with you."

Eli saw Elisa was headed back to the car and he moved his hand away from Clare's and back to his lap. Clare looked sad to lose his touch.

"If your daughter wasn't right outside of the car right now, I might not have been able to stop myself from kissing you right now," Eli whispered quickly before Elisa opened the door and sat down in the back seat.


	6. Young Love In An Old Ford

**Yeah, I know. I'm really slow at updating lately. Sorry! Enjoy.  
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><p>It was Wednesday evening and Clare had not seen Eli all week. She thought when she said she wanted to spend more time with him that he would have taken the hint and called to set something up. So far, nothing. Clare figured it was time to take some initiative. She had a doctor's appointment the next day and Eli had offered to drive her. That seemed like the perfect excuse.<p>

Clare sent him a text message, "Hey, Eli."

Eli responded, "Hi, Clare. What is up?"

"Remember how you said you would go to the doctor's with me?"

"Yes…"

"Well would you mind driving me to my appointment tomorrow?" Clare sent, and then she immediately realized that she didn't want to sound pushy so she sent a second message before he could respond. "But if you're not free then don't worry about it."

"What time? I'm free all morning."

"10 A.M."

"Okay, I can pick you up at 9:30, if that works for you. I'm guessing we won't need more than a half hour to get there."

"9:30 sounds perfect. Thank you so much, Eli. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Anytime, Edwards."

Clare smiled as she put her cell phone away. She was practically giddy at the thought of seeing Eli tomorrow morning. Clare already started running through ideas of what she should wear tomorrow. She knew it wasn't a date, or anything like that, but she still wanted to look nice when she saw Eli.

* * *

><p>The next morning Clare went through her usual routine. She cooked breakfast then she got her kids up and made sure they were ready for school. She woke Jake up from the couch and sent him off to work. Jake's new residency on the couch now added more work to Clare's morning. After washing the breakfast dishes, Clare would now have to clean up the couch and the living room. Also, today it appeared that Jake had taken up late night snacking. There were crumbs everywhere. Clare decided she better vacuum before they got ants, or worse, mice.<p>

By the time Clare finished up all of her chores, she barely had time left to shower and get ready for the day.

As she was brushing her teeth, she looked out the bathroom window and noticed a black classic car parked in front of her house. It was only 9:15, but it HAD to be Eli. Of course he would be early. That is just how Eli was.

Clare was both annoyed and excited that Eli was early, but once she realized that she was ready to go and he hadn't even tried to bug her yet, she just got excited to see him again. She threw on a sweater and her shoes and ran out to his car.

She noticed Eli scribbling feverishly on a notepad and decided to announce herself so as not to scare him.

"Nice car," Clare yelled out. It was the first thing that popped into her head. Her plan did not work very well, though. Eli still jumped a bit; Clare could tell that she had startled him out of his own thoughts.

He looked up and a huge grin spread across his face when his eyes hit Clare. He noticed that she dressed more casual now then she did when they were younger, but he thought she looked as cute as ever in her tight jeans and flowered shirt.

"Thanks," Eli laughed at himself when he realized how long it had taken him to respond. "Do you know cars now?" Eli questioned as Clare moved papers off of the passenger seat and sat down.

"Not too much, but I know a little. I know this is a Mustang, but it's not like any other old Mustang I've ever seen." Clare explained. "And I'm guessing the paint is custom. It's too shiny to be original."

"Wow, I have to say, I'm impressed! This one is kind of rare. How do you know all that? Have you been leading a secret hot-rod like and not told me?" Eli joked.

"Glen, my step-father, is a car guy. I always used to get dragged to car shows so my mom would have someone to keep her company. I guess one day I just started paying attention," Clare revealed.

"That's pretty awesome. Girls that know cars is kind of a turn-on," Eli admitted and Clare would have sworn that she saw a hint of pink grace his beautiful cheeks.

"I should have guessed that you would have a classic car. It is so your style," Clare said, changing the subject back to his car.

"I have five, actually. Cars are my one indulgence," Eli told her.

"Five? Really? How do you find the time to drive them all? I can't wait to see them!" Clare should have known. Eli always was a car guy. She thought back to Morty and how much he loved that damn hearse. She also found herself hoping that he hadn't bought a new hearse. She really did hate that thing, it always creeped her out a bit.

"Well the Mach 1 Mustang is my favorite of my cars. Bullfrog bought it for me for my high school graduation. We restored it together," Eli explained.

"Wait, you did this?"

"Yeah, it took a while, but it was nice to spend that time with my dad. It actually started a tradition. Since then we have restored a different car together every year. Bullfrog had quite the collection of Mustangs now. He lets me borrow them sometimes, but this one is mine all mine," Eli smiled as he patted the dash and reminisced. The time he got to spend with Bullfrog restoring cars was always one of the best parts of his year.

"Wow! That really is awesome. So I take it your parents are still around. Where do they live now?" Clare was truly interested in everything Eli had to say.

"Same house. I offered to buy them a new, bigger house, but they wouldn't move. So I just bought Bullfrog some land outside the city and we put up a nice garage and workshop for the cars. I also bought Cece a beach house on Cape Cod. It was her idea, but they rarely go," Eli told Clare.

"Oh, I've never been to Cape Cod. I hear it is beautiful," Clare said.

Eli just smiled in return. He wanted to tell her he would take her. They could leave right now. He wanted to tell her that he would take her anywhere she wanted to go, but he didn't think that would be acceptable right now. So instead, he just smiled and changed the subject.

"I brought you a coffee," Eli said as he finally collected his papers from Clare and put them away in the back with his notepad. "Do you like milk or cream?" Eli asked as he picked up the two coffees.

"Milk, please," Clare said in a voice so sweet it melted Eli's heart.

"Good because both of them are milk. I got sugar on the side, though. I couldn't remember how much you like." Eli handed her a paper coffee cup and a handful of sugar packets.

Clare couldn't believe how thoughtful Eli was being. Of course he would remember that she liked milk instead of cream, and of course he would get it for her without being asked. Clare was overcome with emotion over such a simple gesture. She just wanted to jump out of her own seat and give him a hug.

Simultaneously, on his own side of the car, Eli was having similar thoughts. He was thinking of how easily it would be to just lean over and kiss her. She probably wouldn't mind, but it didn't seem right to him. He was always taught to wait until the end of a date to kiss a girl, not the beginning. Plus, this wasn't even a date. This was just a friend being supportive of another friend.

It was just then that Eli remembered why he was here. Clare was going to the doctor's right now to get checked for STDs because her husband cheated on her. This was no time to be thinking about taking advantage of Clare. She must be so scared right now. He just had to be the supportive friend right now, not the creepy guy. He was determined to be there for Clare no matter what. Life had given him a second chance and he wasn't going to screw this up. He wanted Clare around, even if they could only ever be friends.

"Okay, we better get going. Just point me in the right direction," Eli said, shaking the both of them out of their daydreams.

* * *

><p>The ride to Clare's doctor's office was pretty quiet. Eli figured she didn't want to talk right now, so he turned on the radio to listen to Bullfrog's morning show. They both laughed at Bullfrog's stories and sang along to the classic rock songs he played.<p>

Eli pulled up to the doctor's office and parked his car. As Clare started to get out of the car, he noticed the Ob/Gyn sign in front of the building. Eli knew what that meant, and he wasn't sure why, but the thought of bringing Clare to her "lady doctor" instantly embarrassed him. He decided that if he didn't get out, then maybe Clare would just go inside and let him wait in the car. With that in mind Eli stayed put.

"Are you coming?" Clare asked as she reopened the door to talk to him.

"Why don't you go ahead? I'll wait right here," Eli offered, hoping it would be that easy.

"Please?" Clare asked with puppy-dog eyes. "The waiting room is the worst. I just need you to keep me company."

Eli could not resist that face. He begrudgingly got out of his car and silently followed her to the office.

"Okay, Mrs. Martin, you and your husband are all set. Feel free to have a seat and we will call you in a few minutes." The nice receptionist told Clare and Eli.

"Oh, no, I'm not-" Eli started to clarify that he was most definitely not Clare's husband.

"Elli! Just go sit!" Clare cut him off and led him to the waiting area.

"I'm sorry, that was awkward. I just… Are you sure I shouldn't just wait in the car?" Eli offered again, visibly nervous.

"Relax, Goldsworthy," Clare giggled. "It's just a doctor's office."

"But all these women are pregnant. What if someone sees us and thinks I knocked you up?" Eli whispered.

Clare let out a snort. She couldn't help it; he was being so overdramatic right now. "Is that what you are worried about? My doctor is not just for pregnant woman. We'll be fine."

"Well… yeah. I do have to worry about things like that, sometimes people do recognize me, but it's not just that. This place kind of creeps me out. They won't expect me to go in there with you, will they?" Eli whispered again.

"No! And anyway, they will probably just do a blood test or something. I already had my yearly checkup," Clare explained.

"Okay, enough. You already told me way too much," Eli all but begged her to stop.

Clare giggled at how cute Eli was being. She had never seen him so uncomfortable over something so silly.

"Clare Martin," a young nurse called out.

Eli looked around. He thought that it was quite a coincidence that there happened to be another Clare here right now. Until his Clare stood up. "Oh," Eli thought to himself, "right."

"I'll be quick. Behave," Clare smiled and sashayed away.

Eli watched her wiggle her hips right through the door. After she was out of sight, his mind began to race. Clare was still married. How could he let himself forget that fact? He should not be letting himself have these thoughts.

He was now mentally kicking himself for that pregnancy comment he made before. It was Cece's fault. She begged him to give her "grandbabies" practically every day now. It was her fault he had babies on the brain.

He couldn't blame everything on his mother, though. He had to admit that Clare was the only girl that he had ever pictured himself starting a family with. She wasn't even with him. She technically wasn't even single. She was still married to someone else. And even if by some miracle she decided to give him a shot, she would never want to have kids with him. She already had a family, surely she was finished having children.

Eli wanted to stop himself. He knew he shouldn't let his mind wander too far away from him like this. Letting his thoughts get away from him always ended up getting him into trouble. He couldn't help it, though, the only thing he could picture right now was Clare holding a baby; his baby. The sun streaming in from a window was lighting up her hair like a halo. It was the most beautiful picture his brain had ever created.

Eli had his eyes closed, and was still enjoying his vision, when Clare returned.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Clare asked, innocently.

"What? Oh, nothing," Eli defended.

"You had a pretty big smile on your face to be thinking about nothing."

Shit, Eli had to make up an excuse quick, "I was, uh, just thinking about some stupid videos Adam showed me. A dog playing a piano, can you imagine?"

Clare smiled politely. She may not have seen him in years, but she still knew him well enough to know when he was lying. She just didn't know why. No sense in making it into a fight. Maybe it was something personal. Clare understood that she would need to work to gain that level of trust.

"All set?" Eli asked.

"Yeah," Clare sighed.

"What's wrong?" Eli demanded.

"Nothing. I just won't know the results until the end of next week. I'm going to be stressing out until I know," Clare explained.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep you distracted then," Eli joked. Then, when he noticed the huge smiled that immediately spread across Clare's face, he hoped that he might actually get to make good on that offer.

"Let me buy you lunch," Eli asked, surprising Clare.

"Eli, it's only 10 AM," Clare laughed.

"Well, then either let me buy you breakfast or start thinking of something we can do until lunchtime," Eli smirked.

Clare enjoyed this flirty Eli. He was being so nice to her and she couldn't understand what she did to deserve all of his attention and friendship. Clare couldn't help herself. The tears just welled up in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but that just made them run down her cheeks.

"Please don't cry," Eli begged as he ushered Clare out of the building and towards his car. "I can just bring you home right now if you want. We don't have to do anything else. I know this must be a stressful day for you. You probably just want to go home and relax."

"It's not that. It's just; you are being so nice to me. I forgot what it was like to have someone care so much about me that they would do anything to make me happy," Clare explained.

"Oh, you're welcome then, I guess," Eli said as he helped Clare into the passenger seat, then ran around the car to get in the driver's seat next to her. "Okay, no more tears. You think of something fun to do before lunch while I drive. I have to stop by Cece and Bullfrog's house real quick, but then I'm all yours."

* * *

><p>When they pulled up in front of Eli's parent's house a wave of memories flooded Clare's mind. She remembered distinctly how she had tried to throw herself at Eli and how he had known her better than she knew herself. She wondered if she would have regretted sleeping with him that day. In this moment, she wasn't sure she would.<p>

"Hang tight. I'll be right back," Eli jumped out and jogged up to the front door and let himself in.

"Hey, kiddo, is that you?" Bullfrog called from somewhere upstairs when he heard the front door.

"Really, Bullfrog? Still with the kiddo? I am thirty-five years old!" Eli yelled back.

"You'll ALWAYS be my kiddo," Bullfrog told him as he bounded down the stairs. "You don't complain when your mother still calls you baby-boy."

"That's different!"

"Yeah, yeah, you always have been a momma's boy!" Bullfrog laughed and Eli rolled his eyes.

"Where is mom?"

"See," Bullfrog said smugly.

"She asked me to stop by," Eli defended.

"She went out, but that box is what she wanted to give you," Bullfrog explained to his son.

"Sweet, a present! For what?"

"For you to deliver to Imo and Fi next time you go to the city; a housewarming present or something, who knows. Your mother likes shopping for girls WAY too much. She will use any excuse she can get. You better find a wife soon and start popping out some kids. Make you poor mother happy!" Bullfrog demanded.

"Oh god, not you too. I'm leaving!" Eli laughed and grabbed the huge box with pink wrapping paper and headed out the door.

Eli placed the box on the ground behind his car and pulled out his keys to open the trunk. If he had seen Bullfrog follow him outside, he would have made an attempt to stop him.

"Whoa boy! You holding out on me?" Bullfrog yelled as he made his way down the front walk towards Eli's car.

Eli could feel his cheeks burning from embarrassment and his stomach starting to churn from nervousness. Things were starting to be okay with Clare and now Bullfrog was going to mess everything up.

"Go back inside, Dad!" Eli all but screamed.

"Don't be rude, son. Introduce me to your friend," Bullfrog insisted as he continued on towards Eli's car.

"Inside, Dad!" Eli yelled this time.

"Clarebelle?" a very confused Bullfrog asked.

"Hey Bullfrog," an extremely pink-cheeked Clare squeaked.

"Clarebelle! How the helluv you been?" Bullfrog asked as he leaned into the passenger side window and smothered Clare in a hug.

"Good," Clare's muffled voice said.

"Okay, Bullfrog, that's enough. She's good. You're good. I'm good. We have to go!" Eli grabbed his father's arm and pulled him away from the car.

For once, Bullfrog took the hint. He walked back up to the house and stood in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Clare," Eli said, defeated, as he got back in the car. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't know he was going to follow me out. He never does."

"It's okay," Clare offered, but Eli still hung his head in shame. "Eli, look at me. It really is not a big deal at all. It was nice to see Bullfrog. I had forgotten how much I missed your parents," Clare smiled. "Plus, if we are going to be friends, then we are going to have to get used to eachother's families."

Clare wasn't really thinking of Eli's family when she said that. It had just hit her that, if they were going to continue to hang out, then he was going to have to meet her family. Now she was scared of how he was going to react to her messed up family.

At that comment, Eli began thinking the same thing. He wondered what Clare's sons would think of him. If they were anything like that asshole father of theirs, then they would probably hate him. And what would Jake say when he finds out? Eli hoped that Jake didn't still harbor ill feelings toward him. He didn't even want to start thinking about what Clare's mom would say.

Just then, Eli's phone buzzed. He read the message on the screen and rolled his eyes.

"What?" Clare asked.

"Nothing," Eli tried to brush it off, but Clare pursed her lips and he caved. "Fine."

He handed her his phone and she burst out laughing when she read "Details xoxo Bullfrog".

"X-O-X-O?" Clare questioned.

"Yeah, he doesn't realize that is his automatic text signature and I haven't told him," Eli said with a devilish grin as he started the car.

As Eli pulled away from the curb, he waved goodbye to Bullfrog, and when Clare wasn't looking, he flipped him off.

"No that that's over, where to, darling?" Eli asked, relieved to finally be away from his father.

"I can't really think of anything good. Maybe just go for a drive? Unless you have any better ideas."

"Any movies you want to see?" Eli suggested.

"I don't even know what movies are out," Clare admitted.

"I would suggest the book store, but they always recognize me there. I don't want to put you through that. Hmm… picnic?" Eli tried.

"It is still not lunch time," Clare giggled.

"I know, but we would have to go to the store, buy food, then find a place to picnic. Plus, we wouldn't have to eat right away. We can just enjoy the outdoors. I never get to just sit outside. Come on," Eli begged.

"Okay, okay. Take us to the store, Sir," Clare admitted defeat.

"Eli pretended to tip his non-existent cap to her, "As you wish, Madam."

* * *

><p>"It's not that difficult of a decision. Turkey or Roast Beef, just decide," Eli was getting a bit frustrated at Clare's indecisiveness.<p>

"But I can't decide," Clare whined.

"Then get both," Eli offered; he thought that would be a simple solution.

"Don't be silly, we don't need both," Clare shot down.

"Then decide," Eli demanded.

"You pick."

"Okay, Roast Beef."

"Oh," Clare said, deflated.

"We'll have half a pound of TURKEY, please," Eli said to the kid behind the deli counter.

Clare smiled at him and rolled her eyes. Typical Eli.

"You go pick out snacks. I'll grab drinks and meet you at the check-out."

"Okay, but you aren't paying."

"Yes, I am. Lunch was my idea," Eli told her. Clare huffed and Eli smirked at her cuteness. "Snacks, woman. Go!"

Eli walked the opposite direction and scolded himself again. He hated what he was doing right now. Well, actually, he loved it, but he was so scared of what might happen. He was scared of how easy things were with Clare, of how easily he was slipping into flirting and taking care of her. He didn't know it yet, but he was falling in love with her all over again.

"So, where are we going now?" Clare asked as they headed back to the Mustang. They were so close to holding hands, but neither of them would acknowledge that fact. Eli had tried to grab the shopping bag from Clare, but she had refused to let go. Now they walked through the parking lot, both of the carrying the same bag.

"Oh, I have an idea, but it's a surprise," Eli wagged his eyebrows at her.

"You have to tell me," Clare whined.

"Nope, I don't," a smug Eli told her.

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay, you caught me. I'm kidnapping you and taking you to the backwoods to have my way with you," Eli joked.

"Eli!"

"Clare!"

* * *

><p>When Eli got on the highway, Clare actually started to get worried.<p>

"You aren't really kidnapping me, are you?" Clare nervously laughed.

Eli just glared at her and turned up the radio.

Clare took that as her cue to keep quiet. She just stared out the window and smiled at the off-key singing coming from the other side of the car.

When Eli pulled off the highway and then onto a dirt road, Clare had to ask again, "Seriously, where are we?"

"Just one of my favorite places. Sorry about the dirt driveway, we haven't gotten around to paving it yet," Eli explained.

"You own this land?" Clare asked, amazed yet again.

"Technically Bullfrog does. Remember, I told you I bought him some land?" Eli asked.

"SOME land? Eli, this is more than SOME land. We've already been driving in for, like, 2 km."

"Well, he likes to hunt too. There is a cabin way back on the other side but I thought I'd show you his car collection today. Plus, the cabin is a dirty man cave with no indoor plumbing," Eli laughed.

"This place is gorgeous, and so rural. I can see why you would love it so much. It's probably nice for you to get away from the city," Clare said.

"Yeah, that and the cars!"

"Boys and their toys!" Clare giggled. "Oh my goodness. I thought you said you guys only had a garage here. That looks like a warehouse."

"Where else do you store fifteen Mustangs? Bullfrog calls it the stable. You know, for his pony cars… yeah, he's pretty lame. Anyway, let's make lunch. I'm starving. Then I'll show you the cars."

* * *

><p>"This is the best day I've had in a very long time. Thank you so much." Clare was truly thankful for everything Eli had done for her today.<p>

"I wish you would let me take you out for dinner," Eli was not ready to say goodbye just yet.

"I wish I could, I really do, but I have to make dinner for the kids. They will start scavenging soon if I don't get in there," Clare sadly explained.

"Maybe some other time then?" Eli asked hopefully. He was looking for any sign that it would be okay to ask Clare out on a real date.

"I'm not busy Saturday night," Clare offered hopefully.

"Then I'll pick you up at seven, but I wouldn't mind seeing you before then," Eli let his hand find Clare's and intertwined their fingers.

"I am free during the day tomorrow, I'll be waiting for your call," Clare leaned in closer.

"Well I'm a busy guy, I'll have to see when I can fit you into my schedule," Eli joked and leaned in to match Clare's posture.

"I forgot I was friends with such a famous author. Mister Big Shot doesn't have any time for me," Clare breathed.

"There is always time for you," Eli whispered, letting his words tickle Clare's cheek.

Just then a truck pulled into the driveway. The moment was lost.

"I, uh… I need to go," Clare reluctantly said. "Really, Eli, today was wonderful. I will be waiting for your call."


	7. Tattoos On This Town

**I think I made it in less than two weeks... Yes, I know, I'll try harder this week :)  
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**Also, a little treat for any Man Men fans out there. I added a Mad Men tribute to this chapter. Enjoy :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"Mom, what is going to happen to us?" Clare's youngest son, Daniel, asked.<p>

"What do you mean, sweetie? Nothing is going to happen," Clare reassured him while she continued to prepare dinner.

"No, I mean, now that you and Dad are separated. What is going to happen to us kids?" Daniel was sitting on the counter next to his mother with a worried look on his face.

"Nothing is going to happen. You are going to stay right here with me. Your father is going to find another place to live soon and you will still be able to see him whenever you want or he wants. I would never keep you from your father, just like he would never keep you away from me." Clare patiently explained.

"But I'm not going to get to see you both at the same time…" Daniel trailed off. The look of sadness on his face just about broke Clare's heart.

"Oh baby," Clare cooed as she wrapped him in a hug. "I know this will be extremely hard on you kids, but your father and I don't hate each other, we just can't be married anymore. I'm really sorry, honey, but this is just how it has to be. We are all still a family, we will just live in separate places now." Clare tried to explain as gently as she could. It was taking everything in her to keep the tears that were welling up in her eyes from falling down her cheeks. She had to put on a brave face for her son.

* * *

><p>"Hey, what's up?" Eli asked into his phone, a little pissed that his writing flow was being interrupted.<p>

"So, I hear you have a new-old girlfriend. When do I get to meet her?" Adam's wife asked from the other end of the phone line.

"I have no clue what you are talking about, Yve," Eli's level of frustration just continued rising. "Can you just explain what you mean? I'm not in the mood for games."

"Wow, someone is a Grumpy Gus right now. Fine, just tell me about this Clare girl. I need to meet her and make sure she is good enough for you." Yvonne told him bluntly.

Eli could feel all of the color drain from his face. "H-how do you know about C-clare?" Eli stuttered.

"Oh, come on, Elijah. You know word travels fast in our little family," Yve joked.

"Bullfrog…" Eli whispered to himself.

"Yes, of course Bullfrog. He and Cece are worried about you. They called to ask us if we knew anything. You have been so secretive lately. Is this why we haven't seen you this past week? Why didn't you tell us?" Yve asked with a hit of worry in her voice.

"I wanted to keep this to myself for a little while. I wasn't really ready for all of you to know yet. I kind of wanted to figure out where it is going and enjoy the happiness before the magic is ruined. I know that I am being ridiculous, but I won't get hurt this time!" Eli was exasperated as he tried his hardest to keep from breaking down and yelling at Yve. It was not her fault that his friends and family were worried about him. He had just been avoiding thinking about his past with Clare; he wanted to enjoy the present.

"Oh, Eli! I didn't mean to open up old wounds. I just wanted to make sure you are okay," Yve was beginning to regret doing her husband's dirty work. She loved Eli like a brother; she didn't want to see him hurting.

"Can I take you to lunch? You can tell me how happy you are now. Please?" Yve begged.

A smirk suddenly spread across Eli's face, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Torres, but I already have plans with Clare." Just the thought of spending time with Clare instantly brightened Eli's mood.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? Mrs. Torres is my mother-in-law!"

"I know how much you hate it when I do, that is why I will continue to call you that."

"I'll let it slide this once, but Eli; you really love her, don't you? I can hear it in your voice. Your whole tone changed when you said her name." Yve pointed out.

Eli's cheeks felt like they were on fire in that moment, "Just tell my totally awesome BFF, Adam, that I love him and there is no need to worry about me. And as for you, my nosey friend, I will introduce you soon enough. I promise. I want you to meet her," Eli said. "Not yet, though. And she is not even my girlfriend. I'm not even sure she wants to be anything more than friends, but I have to go now. I will call you guys later."

* * *

><p>After Eli had hung up with Yve he figured his writing rhythm was broken so he decided to call Clare.<p>

Now he was sitting outside her house in his 1932 Mercedes Benz. It was a nice day out so he decided to drive his only convertible and put the top down.

When Clare walked out, he couldn't help the huge smile that spread across his face.

"Ummm…" Clare started then stopped once she got into the car.

"What? What's wrong?" Eli asked. He could tell that there was something that she wanted to say.

"Nothing," Clare blew his question off and put a smile on her face, "Hello, how are you?"

"I'd be better if you would just tell me what's wrong," Eli said.

"Ugh! Nothing, Eli. I don't want to offend you."

"Please? You won't, but this secrecy will kill me. No secrets please," Eli begged.

"It's nothing really, just, this car… Is this Hitler's car?" Clare whispered the last part. She didn't want to admit how creeped out she was. She was thinking about what had happened the last time she told Eli she didn't like his car.

"Is that all?" Eli laughed. "You had me going for a second there! I thought I did something bad."

At the sound of Eli's laughter, Clare instantly relaxed. He had changed. He was better now, she reminded herself. The though made her more comfortable, until she remembered where she was sitting.

"Really, though."

"No, Clare, this is not Hitler's car. I'm pretty sure that one is in a museum somewhere," Eli laughed again at how cute she was while she was trying to hide how uncomfortable she felt.

"But it is the same KIND of car, right? I have to admit, I'm a little creeped out right now."

"Oh, Clare is that what is bothering you? We can go switch cars if you want. I just thought it would be nice to have the top down, but you haven't seen my other car or my truck yet. We can go switch. You'll just have to make it to my house," Eli smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Can we please? I'm sorry," Clare apologized. She really did feel silly making such a big deal about this, but she would have never been able to enjoy herself with Eli if she was thinking about Hitler the whole time.

"No problem, m'lady, whatever you desire," Eli said as he pulled away from the curb and headed back towards his house.

* * *

><p>"What's that one?" Clare asked, pointing to one of Eli's cars.<p>

"That one is a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, but I think we'll take the '65 F100." Eli pointed to his pickup truck. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, sounds good. They are both so pretty," Clare giggled. "And, of course, Dr. Doom has to have a collection of all black vehicles." Clare stuck her tongue out at him.

"Watch that tongue, Edwards! I might bite it off," Eli joked. He was enjoying that, despite their rough start today, they were able to joke around so freely.

"Get in," he demanded as he held open the passenger side door of his pickup truck.

"So, where to now?" Clare asked.

"Oh, come on. You should know I'm not going to tell you and ruin the surprise."

Clare just huffed at him in return.

As Eli drove through the familiar streets, Clare's heart skipped a beat when she realized where he was taking her. She hadn't been back there since they broke up in high school. She didn't even know it still existed. She figured it would have been re-developed by now.

"Oh, Eli," Clare gasped.

Eli just smiled. He knew the abandoned church would elicit a favorable response from the beautiful girl beside him.

"How did you-"

"I still come here from time to time," Eli admitted. "It's been a good place to write. So many memories happened here. Sometimes it's like the crumbling walls speak to me when I get in a writing groove."

Clare was sad to realize that Eli's life had gone on without her. He had become a successful author, had a group of close friends - and probably a string of girlfriends – that got to enjoy his company. What had she accomplished since the last time they were here together? Not much. She had a failed marriage, basically no friends, and no career. She was thanking God right now that she had Eli again. She felt lucky to be granted access to his private life.

Clare was soon snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed something she had completely forgotten about.

"Is that-"

"Yes, it's still there," Eli smirked as he stopped the truck right next to the tree they had carved their initials in all those years ago. This wasn't part of his plan, but it didn't hurt.

"We were so young," Clare said dreamily.

"I know." Eli couldn't take his eyes off of Clare; she just looked so pretty when she was lost in thought.

"Come on," Eli rolled down the windows, turned the radio up, and hopped out of the cab.

By the time Clare made her way around to the bed of the truck, Eli had a blanket spread out and was lying down on top of it. Clare kicked off her shoes and climbed in next to him. She knew she was probably pushing her luck right now, but she couldn't help it. Eli looked so cute and comfortable. She slowly crawled up next to him and lay down with her head resting on his chest.

Eli tensed up at first. He had never expected Clare to be so daring with him, but he soon relaxed when he realized this was right where he wanted to be. He was wishing he could stay like this, with her, forever. All the feelings he had been pushing aside came rushing back. The words Yve had spoken earlier suddenly rang in his ears. _You really love her._ There was no denying his feelings any longer. He was finally beginning to admit to himself that he did love her again; or maybe he had just never stopped.

He couldn't let Clare know any of this, though. He was afraid she might find it suffocating. Sure, they had gotten past that, but there was no doubt that he was moving way too fast. He just had to keep himself in check. He couldn't afford to lose her again.

Eli and Clare laid in comfortable silence for a very long time. Eli was listening to the songs flowing from his truck speakers. Clare had her eyes closed and her breathing had slowed enough that Eli figured she had fallen asleep. With that in mind, when a particularly slow song came on the radio, Eli couldn't help but sing along.

"I feel fine anytime she's around me now," Eli sang quietly. "She's around me now almost all the time. If I'm well you can tell that she's been with me now. She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine."

"Don't stop," Clare told him when the chorus was over and he went back to just listening to the words.

"I thought you were sleeping," Eli looked down and brushed his hand over Clare's hair. He was trying to avoid the embarrassment he would feel if Clare realized he was singing those words about her.

"This is a really beautiful song," Clare ignored Eli's comment and just enjoyed his hand running through her hair.

"All of his songs are," Eli told her. "Cece is a huge James Taylor fan, she got me into him. Don't let her hard rocker chick exterior fool you. She's a fan of any good music." Eli laughed a little at the thought of his mother.

"I had forgotten you guys liked such a wide variety of music."

"He is one of the artists that transcends musical genres. That's how you know an artist is good; when they can reach out to people outside their particular focus group," Eli explained.

Clare loved listening to Eli talk about music. It was obvious that he was knowledgeable, but he was getting away from what she really wanted to talk about.

"Eli," Clare started slowly as if testing the waters, "Can I ask you something kind of silly?"

"Ask me anything, and I'm sure it won't be silly," Eli reassured her.

"Um… is tomorrow, like, a date?" Clare blushed.

Eli wasn't sure how to read that question. He was hoping it was a date, but did SHE want it to be a date? What if she didn't want it to be? What if he said yes and she freaked out? What if she got mad at him and never wanted to talk to him again? He decided to just attempt to play it cool. He hoped his voice wouldn't betray him.

"Do you want it to be?" Eli asked with mock confidence.

"I don't know what the right answer is," Clare admitted.

Eli began to panic a bit and sat up, startling Clare in the process. He knew this was way too good to be true. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's just… I really, really WANT it to be a date," Clare interrupted before he could say anything self-loathing. "I just didn't want to force myself on you. I really care about you and I don't want to lose you again! Plus, I don't know what people would think if I started dating already. My divorce isn't finalized yet, heck, Jake and I are still technically living together. Isn't that going to be weird for you and me?"

"Oh, darling," Eli just wanted to kiss her in that moment. He was so happy that her reservations were not because of him, but he didn't kiss her. It was not the right time. "We don't have to do anything you aren't ready for. Right now I am just really enjoying spending time with you. I would still like to take you out tomorrow night. It doesn't have to be a date. It can be two friends hanging out, just like right now," Eli explained as he put his arm around Clare to comfort her.

"I would really love that. Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Where are you going tonight, Mom?" Elisa asked. She had just walked by and saw her mother a bit more dressed up than usual and standing in front of the mirror carefully applying makeup. Her mother rarely wore makeup. Elisa had to know what was going on.<p>

"Just out with a friend," Clare vaguely told her daughter.

"A male friend?" Elisa asked bluntly. Her ability to get right down to the point and not beat around the bush was a trait that she got from her father.

"Just a friend, honey. This is not really something you should be asking your mother about." Clare believed that there were few things in her life that she should keep private from her children. A quais-date with a man that was not their father just happened to be one of those things.

"Are you going out with Eli Goldsworthy?" Elisa wagged her eyebrows at her mother.

Her mother's non-response told her everything she needed to know. "You are? OH MY GOD! This is awesome! You have to tell me everything! Did he ask you out? How? Are you "dating" him now? What is he like on a date? Is it super romantic? Has he kissed you? Where is he taking you? This is so cool. Tell me, tell me, please," Elisa had broken down to begging by the end.

Clare responded with, "I have to get going."

Elisa followed her mother down the stairs and noticed a big, black, brand new, Lincoln Navigator parked outside the house.

"Eli has a nice car," Elisa told her mother.

Clare just rolled her eyes. She was determined not to indulge her daughter's prying eyes, but all hope was lost when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh my god! Is that him?" Elisa was overly excited when she beat her mother to the door and opened it to find Eli standing on her doorstep with a smirk on his face.

"Eli! Hi!" Elisa flung herself forward and wrapped him into a crushing hug.

"Oh," Eli was surprised and startled that he was being attacked, "Hey Elisa, is your mom here?"

"Right here," Clare laughed at the sight of Eli awkwardly embracing her daughter.

"Okay, Leelee, please detach yourself from Eli. Let him be. You now know who I am going out with. Please behave tonight. I won't be out too late. I love you. Have a good evening," Clare kissed her daughter goodbye and closed the door behind her before following Eli to his SUV.

Eli held the passenger side door open for Clare then hurried around to his own seat.

"So, may I ask where we are headed tonight, or is this another one of your surprises?" Clare asked as soon as Eli sat down and buckled up.

"I guess I can tell you. One of my author friends, Ken Cosgrove, is in town tonight doing a reading. I thought we would go check him out. Sound good?" Eli explained. He wanted to make sure that this would be a sufficient activity.

"Sounds perfect. I've actually heard of him, but I have to admit, I haven't read anything in a very long time," Clare told him, a little embarrassed at her lack knowledge.

"I've read some of his stuff, he's pretty good," Eli told her.

"But he's no Chuck Palahniuk," Eli said with a wink. He had been hoping to let that little remark slip out. He hoped it would remind Clare of their first date back in high school. That was all he could think about all day today while he was waiting to pick Clare up.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Clare reassured. "You have good taste, so I'll probably like him too."

* * *

><p>Ken Cosgrove had just finished reading an excerpt from his newest book. Clare got up to go wait in line to meet him, but Eli held her hand and sat her back down.<p>

"Wait up," Eli said. "Let everyone else go first. I want to be able to talk to him. I haven't seen him in a while."

Once most of the room had cleared out, Eli and Clare made their way up to talk to Ken.

"Elijah!" Ken exclaimed excitedly when he saw Eli.

"Kenneth! Good to see you, man. Your new stuff is good. Not as good as mine, obviously, but much better than some of the other crap that's out there. How've you been?"

Clare loved seeing this side of Eli. She loved how comfortable he was with his friends, even if she was a little sad that she had missed out on this part of his life.

"I'm good, I'm good. The wife's pregnant so I try and stay away," Ken laughed. "You know women; she may love me, but her pregnancy hormones hate me. Oh, I'm sorry," he said, just now realizing there was a pretty girl standing next to Eli. "Who is this? Elijah, did you finally find a girl that can put up with you?"

"Of course not, this is my friend, Clare. Clare, this is my asshole college buddy, Ken," Eli introduced them properly.

"Oooh," Ken said when he realized who the girl was. "Is this THE Clare?"

Eli just glared at him as if daring him to go any further.

"I mean, it's nice to meet you, Clare. Are you a fan?"

"I have to say, I have never read any of your books," Clare giggled nervously, "but I haven't read any of Eli's either. So don't feel bad. I really liked what you read tonight, though."

"Thanks, love. You'll have to change that, though. Here," Ken said smugly as he handed Clare a stack of his novels.

"Ha, some light reading," Eli joked.

"No, this is awesome. Thank you so much. You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. Now I can say that Eli's girlfriend likes my work better than his!" Ken smugly told Clare. "Lord knows my wife is one of the biggest Eli fangirls around."

Clare ignored Ken's girlfriend comment, but the red tint to Eli's cheeks didn't go unnoticed.

"I don't know about that, I think my daughter has everyone beat in that category. She attacked him when he picked me up tonight," Clare explained. She liked Ken. He was kind of full of himself, but she could tell he was a constant joker. It was easy to see how he and Eli had developed a friendship.

"Enough about me," Eli cut in once his embarrassment over the girlfriend comment had died down. "We better get going. I think I owe Clare some coffee after that BORING author rattled on and on forever. It was good to see you Kenneth. Call me next time you are in town, Cece and Bullfrog would love to have you over for dinner."

Eli gave Ken a one-armed man hug then moved to put his arm around Clare.

Clare said goodbye to Ken and snuggled into Eli's embrace.

"Ken's nice," Clare said as they walked out into the cool night air.

"Ken is an asshole, but he's alright. We were roommates in Grad School. We got along real will. He's from the States, though, so I don't see him that often anymore. I really do have to pay him a visit next time I'm down there," Eli thought out loud.

"Eli, you didn't correct him when he said I was your girlfriend. Do you want me to be your girlfriend?" Clare asked innocently.

Did he want her to be his girlfriend? No, he wanted her to be his wife. All of his friends were married – some even had kids now – and he was the single guy still pining over this girl right in front of him. He wanted to be with her more than anything, but he was going to take whatever she would give him and not push her for more. This had to be on her terms. She was the one going through a divorce right now. He didn't want to be just some rebound guy. He wanted to be Clare's everything and he wanted forever, if she would have him.

"I want whatever you want," Eli told her and looked directly into her eyes trying to judge her reaction.

"I want to be with you, Eli, but I'm not ready. I'm scared that I am moving too fast. I'm scared that one day you will realize that I'm not good enough, or smart enough for you, and you will just disappear," Clare explained as a tear threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Don't you ever, even for a second, think that you aren't good enough. You are perfect," Eli told her as sincerely as he could. He desperately needed for Clare to realize that he was in this for the long run.

As he stared into Clare's eyes he could tell that there was still a hint of doubt hiding behind his favorite shade of blue.

"You know, if this was a date, then this is when I would kiss you," Eli said hoping to cheer her up and lay all his cards on the table at the same time.

"I changed my mind," Clare smiled and confused Eli. "I want this to be a date."

Clare barely finished her sentence when Eli pulled her body into his. He took one last look in her eyes to be sure, and then he leaned in and let his lips find hers.

* * *

><p>Eli lay in bed that night wide awake; for once that was a good thing. His mind kept reeling over his kiss with Clare. He didn't want to go to sleep lest he forget every little detail. He needed to make sure that every little thing about tonight was permanently burned into his brain.<p>

He couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of her lips against his. It was so much better than he remembered; he wasn't sure how that was even possible. One thing he did know, though, was that tomorrow morning he would have a whole new story to write. This one was guaranteed to be a best seller.


	8. Lovin' You Is Fun

**Hey all. I know I suck at updating. I am really really sorry it took so long! Work and writers block got in the way. **

**Be sure to follow me on twitter: degrassidrinkin and on tumblr: degrassidrinkin so you can bug me to update more often. A gentle reminder does help sometimes.**

**Anyway, you have waited long enough. Anyone that is still reading thank you so much :) On with chapter 8.**

* * *

><p>I'm sorry, Ms. Martin, but we just don't have the need for any office help at this time. I can give you a hard hat and a hammer and send you out to the job site," the kind older gentleman, across the desk from Clare, offered.<p>

"Uh, no... no thank you," Clare politely declined. She had a working knowledge of the construction industry from being with Jake all of those years, but that didn't mean that she was ready to be employed on the front line. Clare pictured herself as more of a behind the scenes kind of girl. She had been hopeful for this job lead, but she should have known better. Of course she wasn't going to get a job that easily.

"I really am sorry I couldn't help you out," the older man explained. "If you do change your mind about the laborer's position, then that job is all yours. We would love to have you."

Clare smiled kindly at him, there was no way in hell she was going to change her mind about that.

"All right, well please tell your father I said hello. Have him give me a call, I'd love to hit the links with him again soon."

"Will do," Clare said as the gentleman stood up to shake her hand. She didn't feel like explaining that Glen was not really her father. At this point in her life she had just come to accept that she was involved in a very different family situation and there was no need for everyone to know all the crazy details.

Clare headed out to her car feeling very defeated. She knew that she was going to have to work harder on finding a job now. It had been a few weeks and she knew she couldn't keep leaning on Jake for support, not even financially.

Jake just put a deposit on and apartment, he was going to move in this weekend. He agreed to continue paying the mortgage and providing for the kids, but Clare just didn't feel right taking his money for herself. She was determined to actually be able to provide for herself for once. She just had to find a job now.

Clare checked her phone when she got back to the car and her mood instantly lifted. The missed call from Eli was perfect timing. She hadn't seen him in a week and a half and she really missed him right about now. She hadn't seen him since the night of their epic kiss.

She knew that it wasn't his fault that he had to run off to New York, but she didn't like the timing. All she could think about right now was being able to kiss him again, but he was stuck in another country. They hadn't even gotten a chance to talk before he called her the next afternoon from New York City to tell her he wasn't going to be home for a while. She knew that he felt bad for leaving unannounced, but she also knew that he had to go for his job. She respected his job.

Clare dialed Eli's number and all of her stressed of today melted away when she heard his voice.

"Hello beautiful!" An excited Eli boomed from the other end of the phone line. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call?"

Clare giggled like a schoolgirl, "You called me, silly!"

"Oh yes, I thought maybe you just wanted to chat. I guess not. I'll let you go," Eli joked. He was coming home tonight and he hadn't told Clare yet. He was hoping that she would be able to make time to see him. He could think of nothing else for the past week then wrapping her up in a tight embrace as soon as he got home.

"Eli!" Clare exaggerated.

"You know I'm just kidding. I actually wanted to know if you are busy tonight," Eli explained.

"Are you home?" Clare asked excitedly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, no, I'm not home yet. I'm headed to the airport right now. It has been way too long since I've seen you and I was hoping you could spare some time for me." Eli was a tad nervous of what Clare's answer would be. Sure, they had talked while he was away, but they had avoided talking about the kiss they had shared and what that now meant between them. He had no idea what was going on in her head right now.

"Oh, you finally have time for your... friend again?" Clare asked in a mock annoyed tone. She had almost let herself slip and say girlfriend instead of friend, but she knew she wasn't ready to cross that line yet. Plus, girlfriend just sounded rather silly to her at her age.

"Well, I mean, I guess I could stay in the city for another night. Imo really is a wonderful cook. She and Fi were practically begging me to stay for one more dinner." Eli knew he was probably pushing his luck, but he couldn't help it. He just loved teasing Clare.

Clare did love flirty, teasing Eli, but right now it was time to get down to business. It had been way too long since she had seen him last and she couldn't wait much longer for a repeat of their epic second first kiss.

"What time does your flight get in? I am picking you up," Clare demanded.

"You don't have to do that. You know what? I won't be getting in until late. It was silly of me to ask to see you tonight, you must be so busy. How about we just have breakfast together tomorrow morning instead?" Eli asked, switching to a more serious tone. He really did feel selfish dragging Clare away from her family late at night and unexpectedly. He had to constantly keep reminding himself that Clare had other people in her life besides him. People that really needed her.

"Either you can tell me what time your flight gets in, or I can call your manager and ask him. I think I still have your card around here somewhere. I'm sure he would love to hear from me. I'll make sure and tell him all about how I have been distracting you from your work," Clare was pulling out all the stops. She knew this would get her what she wanted.

"No, no, that isn't necessary. My flight will get in at ten-thirty tonight," Eli quickly told her. "I have to go now. I can't wait to see you!"

* * *

><p>Clare tried to keep herself busy until it was time to pick up Eli. She had already made dinner for the family and picked up the entire house and that still left her with a few hours to spare before it was time to leave. When her children put on a movie after dinner, Clare tried her hardest to enjoy it, but she just could not concentrate. The exciting thoughts of getting to be near Eli again just kept racing through her mind.<p>

No one said anything when she left the living room halfway through the movie, but when she headed out the front door without saying a word, Jake followed her.

"Um... where are you going?" Jake asked her as he closed the door behind him in hopes that the kids wouldn't overhear their interaction.

"Out," was the only response that he got from Clare.

"That is obvious, but where? You can't just leave your family without saying anything," Jake demanded.

"Actually I can. You are here to watch the kids, so I didn't feel the need to tell them. And you have lost all privileges of knowing how I choose to spend my time, Jacob. It's not like I'm going out and cheating on you," Clare rolled her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have said that, but it just slipped out. She had to admit, it did feel good to not hold back her feelings for once. "If you must know, though, I am just picking up a friend from the airport."

"What friend? You don't have any friends that go anywhere," Jake said.

Clare was positive that Jake was trying to push her buttons so she decided she might as well just push right back. She was in no mood for his shit tonight. There was no way she was going to let him put her in a fowl mood right before she went to see Eli.

"Just an old friend from high school," Clare smiled.

"I know all of your friends from high school. Who is it?" Jake was almost whining now. Clare hadn't seen him like this in a while.

"Just and old friend, Jake. Someone that has to travel a lot for work," Clare tried, hoping that would be enough information to placate Jake.

"It's some guy, isn't it? Is that why you don't want to tell me?" Jake pushed.

"No, it's not just 'some guy', it is a very dear friend of mine. No, that is not the reason I don't want to tell you. I don't want to tell you because it is none of your business," Clare explained as calmly as she could muster.

"Clare, I am still and always will be the kids father. I deserve to know who will be around my children," Jake told her.

Clare decided to rein in her temper for the moment. There were so many mean thoughts and comments running through her head, but instead of letting them out she just rolled her eyes, shook them out of her head and responded kindly and logically, "And when I decided to bring him around the children, then I will let you know."

"Just be careful. I am still allowed to worry about you, you know."

"I'll be fine," Clare called back as she finally made her way to her car. "And besides, I think I will be safer with Eli then I ever was with you."

Clare just couldn't resist. He had gotten her all worked up with his interrogation. She couldn't hold it in any longer and she knew that Eli's name alone would piss Jake off more than any snide comment she could come up with.

Clare climbed into her car, started the ignition, and took one last glance back at her soon-to-be ex-husband. The look of shock on his face was all she needed to be catapulted right back into her happy state of mind.

* * *

><p>Clare arrived at the airport just after ten and headed directly inside. She had already waited a week and a half to see Eli, there was no way she would be able to sit in the car and wait the few extra minutes it would take him to find and collect his bags. She needed to see him as soon as he got off of that plane.<p>

Once Clare found the correct terminal she realized that security would allow her to go no further. She stood right by the exit in hopes that Eli would arrive soon, but when the next flight arrived, it was not Eli's.

Clare watched as each person made their way by her. Some were greeted by friends and family, some were alone. Clare couldn't help but wonder where each person was coming from and where they were headed. She began to make up stories for each traveler. She would smile brightly when a couple was reunited and giggle at the tired children that appeared to be coming home from a fun family vacation. When a man in a business suit rushed past, she didn't get angry when he almost hit her, she just told herself that he was in a hurry to get home and see his kids again.

She got so caught up in the little stories she was writing in her head that she didn't even notice when Eli's flight arrival was announced over the loud speakers.

When a little girl in a pink tutu ran and jumped into the arms in a man in a military uniform, Clare just could not look away. She was so caught up in their little reunion that tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about their "story" and she didn't even realize that Eli was standing right beside her until he held her hand and kissed her cheek.

"Hello beautiful lady, I have miss you so much. Thank you for coming to get me," Eli whispered into her ear and kissed her cheek again.

All thoughts unrelated to Eli were forgotten in that moment and Clare let her emotions take over. She wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could and planted a kiss on his lips right in front of the entire population of the airport. This is something that the old Clare would have never done, Eli thought to himself, but he didn't mind it one bit as he returned her kiss.

When Clare didn't stop, Eli began to feel a bit uncomfortable. They were in public and he still didn't know what she was to him. He definitely did not want anyone recognizing him and asking him any questions about it right now. He needed to figure that out with Clare before he let the whole world know.

"Let's go grab my bags and continue this later; in private," Eli whispered against Clare's lips as he slowly pulled away. He heard Clare whine in protest and gave her one last peck on the lips before taking her hand and leading her to the baggage claim.

* * *

><p>"Is it later yet?" Clare asked with a childish grin on her face. They had just gotten back to Eli's house and he was in the process of pulling his bags out of the trunk of Clare's car when she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Eli didn't know what had gotten into her tonight. She was being so much more forward then usual. He was starting to think that he would have to leave for long periods of time more often now if it meant all of this attention he was getting tonight.<p>

"Can we just get inside first, please?" Eli asked and was met with a pouty Clare.

"Yes, fine. Are you hungry? You must be hungry," Clare said as she reached into the back of her car to get a bag. "I brought you food."

"You, my dear, are amazing. I am freaking starving!" Eli told her.

"Well I hope you don't mind leftovers then. I don't feel like cooking a second dinner tonight, but I will heat up this lasagna for you if you would like," Clare offered.

Eli followed her up his front walk and unlocked the front door for her. "Would you mind terribly if I take a quick shower while you heat up dinner for me?" Eli asked with his best cheesy smile.

"That's fine," Clare told him and headed off to his kitchen.

"Typical man kitchen," Clare mumbled to herself in frustration. She was appalled by the lack of organization of Eli's kitchen. He told her he can cook, but she wondered how anyone could do anything in there at all. Clare gave up guessing and just opened every single cabinet until she found the one with plates. They were hiding behind a stack of frying pans.

"Are you kidding me?" Clare scoffed.

"What's wrong?"

Clare had not realized that she said that out loud, nor had she realized that locating the dishes had taken long enough for Eli to shower and change, but there he was. Standing right in front of her with slicked back hair, wearing only dark jean and holding a t-shirt in his hand.

"Oh, uh..." Clare drew a blank and almost dropped the plate she had been reaching for. "I, uh, I just don't know how you can find anything in here! We are going to have to reorganize EVERYTHING in here if you ever want me to make you food again," Clare added quickly trying to save herself.

"So are you telling me this isn't a one time thing then?" Eli smirked.

"We'll see."

"Clare?" Eli asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing here?" Eli asked in a sincere tone of voice.

"I just picked you up from the airport and now I am making you dinner," Clare smiled lightly.

"That is exactly my point. I know we basically agreed to be just friends for now, but my friends don't pick me up in the middle of the night and cook for me."

"I'm just re-heating; not cooking. No big deal," Clare offered. She really didn't mind doing any of this and she didn't want Eli to feel bad about it.

Eli took a few steps closer, "And I usually don't kiss my friends like you let me kiss you."

Clare just stood still with the plate held out in front of her. She was not expecting this conversation this soon. She swallowed hard and watched Eli continue walking closer to her.

"If we are going to continue with what we are doing here then I have to tell you something. I don't want you to get scared and I don't want you to feel obligated to respond. I just need to tell you and I hope that it won't change what we have." Eli continued in a slow voice.

"W-what is that?" Clare asked. The other side of the plate she was holding was now resting against Eli's bare chest.

"I really enjoy spending time with you," Eli tested the waters, "And you need to know that I think I am falling in love with you again." He had intended on telling her flat out that he is madly in love with her, but he chickened out at the last second. He figured that this would at least get his point across and maybe not scare her away.

"Oh..."

"And like I said, do not feel pressured to respond. I just wanted to tell you. Now, if you please, food?" Eli changed the subject with a grin.

Clare was not sure how she was supposed to continue on with what she was doing like nothing had just happened, but that was what Eli was apparently doing so she tried. Clare heated up the lasagna and set the table all while Eli was watching. She didn't know what else to do but continue on without a word.

"Not eating?" Eli asked when she set a single plate on the table for him and sat down in the chair opposite.

Clare just shook her head no.

"Please, I hope I didn't make things awkward for us. You can just forget what I said if you want. I am a certified crazy person, remember?" Eli tried to joke, but Clare just frowned in return. "Okay, what's wrong? How can I fix it?"

"I was having fun before, Eli, now you have made it serious," Clare flatly told him.

"I don't know why it can't still be fun. Love can be fun, love doesn't have to be a shit load of drama. I don't want the fun to end either, but I also don't want to lie to you and I feel like hiding my feelings might as well be lying. I just want us to be honest with each other. It is fine if you don't love me back. I honestly don't expect you to. You have been through so much and you need time to heal, but I want to be here for you. I want to be whatever you will let me be. If you just want to be friends, then that is fine," Eli explained passionately.

"So we are being completely honest tonight then?"

"Yes, please. I was hoping we could always be honest with each other from now on."

"As I think you can tell, I don't want to be just friends with you," Clare paused to admire the huge grin that was spreading across Eli's face, "But I'm scared."

"That is completely understandable. I would be surprised if you weren't scared of getting hurt again, but Clare, I will try my hardest to make sure that nothing bad will happen to you again. If you will let me that is."

"I'm not scared of that. I know you would never hurt me. I know you would never ever do anything near what Jake has done to me. I am scared of what everyone else will think. I am scared of what my children will think. I am scared that the boys won't like you and that Jake will tell them bad things to make them hate you. I'm scared that we are moving way too fast. I'm scared that I am not good enough for someone as awesome as you. Honestly, Eli, you are a world renowned author. I don't know why I expect you to have any time for a silly housewife who can't even find a job to support herself," Clare was trying her hardest not to cry, but she could feel tears beginning to form.

"We are moving a bit fast, I will admit that. We can go as slow as you want. As for all that other stuff, it doesn't matter. I will try my hardest to impress the boys if and when you let me. Everyone else can go screw themselves. This is you and me. We are the only ones that have to be comfortable with whatever we have going on here," Eli assured her. "If it would make you feel better I'll ask you to be my girlfriend."

Clare laughed, "But girlfriend sounds so silly!"

"Well I don't think we are really ready for anything more than that right now," Eli admitted, more to himself than to Clare.

"How about we just keep doing what feels right. There is no need to put a label on it. We're just 'friends', you know the kind that eat meals together, and go on dates, and miss each other when we are apart, and kiss each other whenever they want to," Clare was starting to feel a lot better about what was going on. Eli always had a knack for soothing her worries. Everything would work out. There was no need to worry. "Oh, and the kind of friends that don't date anyone else."

Eli had to laugh. She was just acting so cute. Of course he wouldn't be dating anyone else, not when he had Clare. He was glad to hear that she felt the same way.

"Oh little Edwards, even after all of this time you are still so cute and innocent."

Now that the drama was over Eli needed to attend to his stomach. He took a large forkful of pasta and braced himself. He remembered the one time back in high school that Clare had attempted to cook for him and it had not ended well. When the fork passed his lips he was pleasantly surprised. It was good. He couldn't believe that Clare could actually cook now.

"Don't look so surprised, mister!" Clare threatened.

"What? Do you blame me?"

"No, I don't. I really was a horrible cook before!" Clare laughed along with him.

After Eli ate and he and Clare settled into his couch to watch a movie he decided to push his luck a bit. "I have two questions and I will not be hurt at all if you say no to either."

"What are they?"

"One. Would it be okay, I mean I can take you and your kids out one night this weekend? I really would like to meet your boys. You can even pick a place that they might like," Eli asked nervously.

"Oh, Eli! That sounds pretty wonderful to me! And Elisa already loves you, maybe I get her to put in a good word for you with her brothers. I'm sure they will love you too. How could they not," Clare exclaimed.

"Let's think," Clare thought out loud, "Where can we take three teenage boys to impress them? Oh, how do you feel about roller coasters?"

"An amusement park sounds good to me. We better go saturday then so we have the whole day."

Eli relaxed back and pulled Clare into his arms, ready to watch the movie.

"What was your second question?" Clare asked innocently.

Damn, why had he said he had two questions. Now he had to either ask her or make up some other bullshit question. He should have just been happy with one question. Why did he ALWAYS have to press his luck? He couldn't lie now, he had just made a huge deal about not keeping things from each other.

"I, uh... Do I have to ask? Can we pretend I didn't say that? I'm just happy about your answer to that last question. Can we wait on the second one?" Eli gave one last ditch effort to get out of asking his other question.

"No way, I want to know now," Clare requested.

Eli took a deep breath and summoned all the courage he could. He was going to need it for this one. "Would you like to spend the night with me tonight? If you think it is too soon then just ignore me. I don't know what I was thinking. It's way too soon, right? I mean, I don't mean sex or anything. I just want to wake up to you being here so I can make you breakfast and see your cute bed-head. I swear. We don't even have to stay in the same room. I have a guest room for you. Or you can have my room and I'll sleep in the guest room. Or you can have the couch. Ok please give me an answer or tell me to shut up because I cannot stop rambling right now."

"Eli, shut up," Clare giggled. "What do I get for breakfast if I say yes?"

"You can have anything you want if you say yes. Pancakes, waffles, french toast, sausage, bacon, steak and eggs... Anything your heart desires. All the breakfast foods in the world can be yours." Eli smirked, knowing that he had won and he was going to get to wake up to Clare in his house.

"Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream and bacon and I get to sleep in your bed and we have a deal," Clare agreed. She was kind of surprised at herself for agreeing, but it just felt right.

"Yes ma'am! I will run to the store before bed then I will take up residence in my guest room for the night," Eli told her.

"No..."

"No what?" Eli asked confused. "Should we wait until morning to go to the store? Will they have better strawberries in the morning?"

"We can go now, but no, I'd like to sleep in the same bed as you. If that is alright. If I am waking up at your house, then I want to wake up to your face," Clare explained.

"Oh... well, then the store it is. Let's go." Eli ignored Clare comment about sleeping arrangements because he wasn't sure what to say. He figured he would give her the trip to the store to think about it and possibly change her mind. He was just ecstatic that she agreed to stay over at all.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure we shouldn't have gotten blackberries too?" Clare asked as they walked back into Eli's house.<p>

"No, we don't need them. We got strawberries and blueberries. I think that is enough."

When their berry discussion was over and the groceries were put away properly, Eli was suddenly feeling very awkward in his own home. He wanted nothing more then to cuddle in his bed with Clare right now, but even though she suggested it he didn't want to push the subject.

"T.V.?" Eli asked nervously.

"Is there one in your bedroom?"

"Yes," Eli squeaked.

"Okay, cool. Can I borrow something to sleep in? I would have came prepared, but I didn't know we would be having a slumber party tonight. Next time I'll pack my jammies and toothbrush just in case," Clare joked.

"Okay." Eli was still in shock that this was actually happening. Clare Edwards was sleeping in his bed tonight. He kept expecting his teenage self to pop out and give him a high five. This was pretty much the only thing he had ever wanted when he was back in high school and now that he was getting his wish, it seemed way too good to be true.

Eli was sitting on the edge of his bed when Clare came strutting back in wearing a pair of his boxers and one of his old concert t-shirts. She jumped onto his bed and pushed down the blankets with her feet and grabbed the television remote from his nightstand. Eli couldn't take his eyes off of her. She looked so comfortable and at home in his house. In his bedroom.

"Are you going to join me or not?" Clare inquired sweetly.

"Just waiting for the bathroom to be free. Women - always hogging up the bathroom," Eli joked to cover his disbelief.

"What do you want to watch?" Clare asked Eli as he returned from the bathroom and got in to bed next to her.

"Honestly, I really just want to watch the back of my eyelids. I am dead tired. Put on whatever you want."

"Not so fast. I believe you promised a continuation earlier and that still hasn't happened," Clare lovingly scolded.

Eli leaned in and kissed Clare gently then pulled away, "In the morning, I promise."


	9. Wouldn't It Be Nice

**Don't want to bore you with too much talk. I didn't really edit, because I just wanted to finally get it posted so please ignore the mistakes. Just read and enjoy and let me know what you think :)**

* * *

><p>Clare opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The room was much too bright for her sleepy eyes to take in all at once. Her bedroom was never this bright, Clare couldn't figure out what was going on. She opened her eyes again, slowly this time, and finally realized where she was.<p>

Eli's bedroom looked a lot different in the morning light. She had never expected Eli to live in a place with so much natural light. As Clare continued to absorb her surroundings one thing took her by surprise; Eli was no where to be found. She had agreed to stay over because she wanted to wake up next to him, but now he was not even there. A wave of disappointment washed over Clare as she closed her eyes again and tried not to get too upset. She took a few deep breaths and made herself relax. This was not a big deal. She was overreacting. Eli was not Jake. Eli was not trying to get away from her, he was probably just a morning person.

Just then she heard the sound of pans clanking coming from the kitchen and she instantly cheered up. Eli wasn't leaving her all alone, he was just keeping his promise and making her breakfast.

After a few minutes of listening to Eli fumble about in the kitchen Clare decided to get out of bed and go help him. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She toyed with the idea of getting dressed, but Eli's clothes were just so comfortable and she wasn't ready to officially start her day yet. As Clare made her way into Eli's kitchen she tried to be extra quite so she could sneak up on him, but he heard her anyway.

"Good morning, beautiful. How was your night? Did you sleep okay? Are you ready for breakfast?" Eli asked before he even turned around to face her.

"Good morning, Eli. My night was wonderful," Clare said as she slowly stepped closer and closer. "I slept very well, but when I woke up, I wasn't sure where I was."

"Oh no, Clare, I'm so sorry!" Eli turned around with a worried look on his face. "We don't have to do this again. I didn't want you to be scared. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Well," Clare started and then stopped to think for a second, "NEXT TIME you can stay in bed until I wake up so I can see your face first thing. Also, we'll just have to do this more often so I can get used waking up in your house."

Eli couldn't help the huge smile that spread across his face as he turned back towards the kitchen counter to continue working on breakfast.

Clare was satisfied with the reaction she had gotten out of him with her response so she decided to keep going with the little game she was playing. She walked right up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You are certainly very lovey-dovey in the morning," Eli pointed out, but didn't stop what he was working on. He just enjoyed the feel of Clare's arms wrapped around his stomach.

"Mmmm," was Clare's only response until she lifted her arms to his chest, stood up on her toes, and kissed the back of his neck.

Eli couldn't resist any longer. He turned around in her arms, leaned back against the counter and pulled her into him. "Continue time?" Clare asked in her sweetest voice.

"I mean, unless you absolutely can not wait for breakfast," Eli joked as he leaned in and captured her lips with his.

"I... think... I can... wait," Clare breathed between passionate kisses.

At that Eli took it upon himself to pick Clare up and sit her on the kitchen counter so he reach her lips easier. With this Eli was also afforded the luxury of letting his hands roam where they may. He caressed her back and then let his hands slowly fall to her legs. Clare moaned at his touch. She hadn't felt this loved... ever.

* * *

><p>After breakfast Eli's phone rang, but he ignored it. He was too wrapped up in Clare to even care. They were busy cleaning up his kitchen, washing the dishes, and steeling kisses from each other every few seconds to even be bothered by anything else. When the phone persisted, he finally gave in and went to grab it.<p>

"What do you want, Jerry? I'm kind of busy right now," Eli brashly told his manager as he looked longingly back at the woman he loved.

"Busy doing what? You had better be writing me the next New York Times best seller, otherwise I will not accept that you are busy," Jerry scolded Eli.

"What can I help you with?" Eli tried act a little nicer, but it was increasingly difficult with each second that work was cutting into his Clare time.

"I have to bring you back down here, you need to do some interviews. Before you even think about objecting, don't. This is the big time, it's the real deal. You can not pass up this opportunity," Jerry knew Eli well enough to know that he would not be happy about returning to New York so soon.

"When?" Eli asked. He was used to packing up and leaving at the drop of a hat, but he was having so much fun with Clare and he barely even had any time to settle in back home since his return last night.

"Uh... that's what I needed to talk to you about. We need you here Saturday night so you can prep for Sunday morning. I got you an interview on Good Morning America. You can not miss this. We may never get another change at a national audience in the States if you blow this off. I know you don't want to, but you HAVE to, Eli." Jerry was practically begging Eli to corporate at this point.

"I JUST got home, are you sure we can't do it any other time?" Eli tried.

"It's now or never, man. I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think we were actually going to be able to book this one, that's why I sent you home. I know you might be busy with your personal life," Jerry said, letting Eli know that he knew more than Eli gave him credit for, "but this is your career. I can't let you screw this up. I booked you a flight for Saturday morning. I'll pick you up when you get here. See you soon, buddy." With that Jerry hung up the phone before Eli could even try and form an argument.

Eli huffed and hung his phone up. He looked over at Clare with sad eyes. He was trying to find the strength to tell her that he was leaving again.

"What's wrong?" Clare asked, worried.

"Work," Eli said, deflated.

"Did something bad happen? Oh Eli, if your manager is mad that I've been distracting you so much, maybe we should calm it down a little bit. I can give you a break so you can get some more work done..." Clare was trying her very hardest to be helpful. No matter how much it would hurt to give Eli space right now, she would do whatever she had to to make this work.

"No, no sweetie. It's not that. I have to leave again. On Saturday," Eli told her.

"But you just got back!" Clare whined before she could even stop herself.

As much as Eli loved to hear Clare's reaction - he loved that she cared that much - it broke his heart that he really had to leave her again so soon. "I know, but I have to go. Jerry is right, I can't pass up this opportunity."

"But Clare," Eli started after he realized what leaving Saturday meant. "Now we can't take your kids out on Saturday."

"Don't even worry about that. We can do it anytime, Eli. We have all the time in the world for that. I'm just going to miss you is all," Clare said with a small pout.

"How about we take them out to dinner on Friday night, before I have to leave. I know it's not as cool as roller coasters and junk food, but it would at least give me a chance to meet your boys. I'd really like to meet them soon."

"Anything you want," Clare told him with a hug. "I better get home, I have a lot of convincing to do to get them excited about this. I will call you later."

With that Clare got dressed, kissed Eli goodbye, and headed home to face her kids.

* * *

><p>By the time Clare cleaned up her house and got changed and ready to face the day, it was almost lunch time. She figured her children had not brought lunches to school since she wasn't there to make them, so she packed four lunches and drove over to the school to deliver them to her kids.<p>

On the other side of town, Eli had called Adam and Yve and begged them to meet him for lunch. They were just settling down at their usual deli when Adam couldn't stop himself.

"Where is Clare? Why didn't you bring her. Yve really wants to meet her."

Eli just rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Forgive my husband, you know how he gets," Yvonne laughed. "Really though, why didn't you bring this girl? I NEED to meet her. Adam has told me so much about her, but he hasn't seen her in awhile. I'm hoping she's changed since you guys were in high school. I can't let you get hurt like that again."

"Please don't worry about me, Yve. I will be fine. I have grown up and so has Clare," Eli told his friend. "Clare is busy this afternoon, don't worry though, everything is amazing between us. I will bring her around soon enough. There is a reason I needed to see you guys, though. I need help."

Adam's eyes widened. "You slept with her didn't you?! Elijah, do not even tell me that you got her pregnant!"

Yve almost spit out her drink.

Eli scoffed in disgust that his best friend didn't know him at all. "Are you seriously asking me that right now?"

"Sorry man," Adam apologized. "You seem both happy and scared, I couldn't think of what else it could be."

"Clare said I could meet her sons, I just don't know how to act around them or where to take them."

"Sons? Plural? How many rugrats does she have?" Adam asked. " Jeeze, I guess it HAS been awhile since I've talked to her. Kind of lost touch after college."

"She had four kids, Adam. One girl and three boys. I've already met her daughter, though. That is actually how Clare and I became reconnected. Her daughter showed up at one of my book signings and she looks exactly like Clare. I almost fainted," Eli laughed at the memory that now seemed so far away.

"Oh, so her daughter is a fan? I bet your macho ego LOVED that!" Adam joked. "Wait, her daughter is a fan? How old are her freaking kids?"

Eli ignored Adam's snide remark and just answered the question, "They are teenagers."

"Wow, I have never felt so old. Our friend has teenage children. Man, that is pretty trippy."

"ANYWAY, back to my problem. What do I do about the boys? They are probably just three miniature Jakes. How am I supposed to handle that? Jake and I have nothing in common," Eli switched the subject back to that of his choosing. He seemed to have to do that a lot when Adam got stuck on a certain topic.

Yve piped in, knowing that her husband would be stuck on feeling old for a little while longer. "Just treat them like adults, like friends. That's who you have to be to them, just an older friend. Do not under any circumstance try to be an authority figure. Not right now. Oh, and buy them stuff. Kids love presents."

"I have no problem with buying them stuff, but what do I buy them? And where do I take them? We were going to take them to the amusement park on Saturday, but Jerry called and I have to go back to the city this weekend, so I am taking them all out to dinner on Friday night instead. This was a horrible idea, wasn't it? Maybe I should just call Clare and cancel; tell her I'm leaving Friday instead of Saturday... But I can't lie to her. I just made a big deal about not lying to each other. What do I do guys?" Eli begged his friends to come up with some answers.

"The boys. Hmmm... teenage boys love cars, but that would be silly. Oh that car show is in town this weekend, get them passes to that! Yeah, that would be good. The daughter is easy, get her some flowers. She'll be happy with that. Sounds as though she already likes you, so you don't really have to win her over. Oh, and get Clare a flower too. Don't want her to feel left out. As for dinner, let Clare choose the place; make her do some of the work here too. Just make sure it's casual so you don't feel too awkward, but tell them to order whatever they want. And get appetizers and dessert. Throw some of that money around, we know you have enough of it!" Yve joked. "Cece always tells us how rich you are."

Eli laughed, "My mother is something else."

"She's just proud of you, we all are," Adam meaningfully told his best friend.

"Thank you Yve. This really is a big help. I am starting to feel better about this whole ordeal. I might dare say i'm even a little excited now."

"It is my pleasure, Eli, you know we just want to see you happy," Yve told her friend.

"You can pay for lunch to thank us," Adam so thoughtfully added.

* * *

><p>As Clare headed over to pick her kids up from school, she prayed that Elisa had done the job Clare had asked of her and worked on getting her brothers excited about meeting Eli. Clare knew it was a long shot, but if Elisa had at least broken the ice on the subject then it might be easier for her to convince the boys to be openminded.<p>

"Hey Jacob, where is your sister and brothers?" Clare asked as her oldest son sat down in the front seat of her car.

"She's off with Seth, of course. And Thomas and Daniel are on their way," Jacob told his mother flatly.

"Did Leelee have a chance to talk to you guys?" Clare knew that her younger sons would go along with whatever Jacob said, so it was crucial to get him excited about meeting Eli.

"Yeah, whatever. She said you want us to meet your friend."

"And what do you think about that? Are you okay with it?" Clare pushed.

"Sure, why not? Free food." He was exactly like his father.

Clare wondered if her son knew who her "friend" was. She had to be honest with him. She didn't want them to have any surprises and then cause a problem when they were actually out with Eli. Clare wanted to get any issues settled before tomorrow night even started.

"Did your sister tell you who my friend is?" Clare asked.

"Yeah, she said something about some famous author? Who knows... it's hard to pay attention to her when she goes off on one of her little rants."

"He is a famous author. I went to high school with him, so I've known him for a very long time. Your sister has already met him and she really likes him," Clare told her oldest son. "Eli and I have been spending a lot of time together since your father and I separated, so I figured that you kids should meet him so you know who I am spending my time with."

"Mom, did you cheat on dad with this guy?" Junior asked flat out. Bluntness was yet another trait that he got from his father.

The direct question startled Clare. She didn't even think that her children would wonder about that.

"NO, no, I did not cheat on your father. I loved your father very much, but we just grew apart. It happens." Clare tried to save what little dignity she had left.

"Oh, so he cheated on you then?"

Clare could not catch a break. Her son just kept firing one tough question after another at her. She didn't want to lie, but she also did not want her kids to know what kind of person their father really was.

"What did your father tell you when he said we were getting divorced?" Clare asked.

"He said the same as you. That you grew apart."

"Then how about we just stick with that as the reason for now. Please?"

"So he did cheat on you. I should have known."

"Jacob, please stop. This is none of your business. Whatever did or did not happen between your father and me is between us and does not concern you. He is still your father and I am still your mother and I and I would thank you to drop the subject before your brothers get in the car." Clare scolded.

"Fine, I'll drop it for now, but I'm asking dad later. I have to know. If he did that to you then I don't know if I can forgive him."

Clare felt proud of her son for wanting to stick up for he like that, but she also did not want this to cause a problem between Jake and Junior. She remembered what it was like when she found out her dad cheated on her mom, and how she had lost so much time with him because she was mad at him. She wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.

By the time Daniel and Thomas made it to the car they were back on the subject of dinner with Eli.

"So where should we go for dinner? I was told to choose, but I don't know the good places like you do." Clare told Jacob, trying to butter him up a bit.

"We're going out to dinner?" Thomas, Clare's middle son, asked excitedly. They hadn't been out to dinner in a very long time. Clare and Jake could never justify taking their family of six out to eat on such a tight budget.

"Yeah, didn't Elisa tell you?" Jacob asked Thomas.

"No, I haven't seen her all day," Thomas responded.

"She told me," Daniel chimed in, he was happy to be included and felt special that he knew more than his older brother. "We're going out to dinner with mom's friend. Elisa says he's really nice and he's also her favorite author. If Leelee likes him then I'm sure I'll like him too," Daniel always looked up to his sister.

Clare had forgotten how different Daniel could be from his brothers. Usually he would just act tough to try and fit in, but deep down he really was an artistic soul like his sister.

"So is that alright with you, Thomas?" Clare asked him now that he was filled in on the subject at hand.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," Thomas said nonchalantly. He never was one to make a fuss over anything.

"Okay then, I'm just leaving it up to you guys to pick the restaurant. Let me know by tonight please, so I can tell Eli," Clare told her sons. She was happy that they were at least open to the idea of meeting Eli, even if they didn't know what he was to her.

* * *

><p>Friday night Eli stood outside of the Martin house with presents in hand. He was hoping and praying that he wasn't walking into a time bomb. He rang the doorbell and waited.<p>

"You must be Eli," Jacob said as he opened the door. "You want to come in and wait, dude? My mom and sister are still getting ready. They take forever."

"Hi, yes I'm Eli." He extended his hand and Jacob shook it. "Are you Jacob?"

"Yup, come on, I'll introduce my brothers."

Eli crossed the threshold and breathed a small sigh of relief. Clare had told him that if he won Jacob over that the others would follow his lead. So far Jacob seem okay with the situation, so Eli started to relax a little.

"This is Thomas," Jacob pointed to the boy playing video games.

"Hello Thomas, nice to meet you."

"Hey," Thomas looked up for the game for a split second then went right back to playing.

"Sorry about him," Jacob told Eli. "This is my brother Daniel. He's the baby."

"I am not a baby!" Daniel pouted.

"Just kidding, bro," Jacob laughed.

"Hi Daniel, your mom has told me a lot about you."

"Hi Eli! Leelee started reading one of your books to me last night. It's really good! I can't wait to finish it. Leelee said you are really nice and I believe her, but you better be nice to my mommy or else," Daniel told Eli.

Eli chuckled quietly. "I have been friends with you mommy for a very long time, I would never let anything bad happen to her."

"Then why did you let her and dad get separated? That made her sad."

"I hadn't spoken to your mom in a long time, but now that she's in my life again I promise I won't let anything bad happen to her anymore. Deal?" Eli held out his hand to Daniel so they could seal their deal with a handshake, like men.

"Deal," Daniel said with a big smile as he grabbed Eli's hand to return the handshake. He was glad that his mommy had such a good friend like Eli to keep her happy and protect her from the bad stuff.

"What are you two conniving over there?" Clare asked when she emerged from her bedroom at that exact moment.

"Oh nothing," Eli laughed and walked over to Clare. "This is for you" He handed her a rose and whispered in her ear, "You look beautiful and I love you."

Clare smiled but shrugged away from Eli. She was not yet ready to show him any affection in front of her children.

"Are we ready to go then?" Clare asked.

"Nope, we're still waiting for the princess to finish getting ready," Thomas snarked from the other side of the living room.

Clare rolled her eyes at that remark. She may have agreed with Thomas, but he still needed to treat Elisa with respect. "Be nice to your sister, it can't be easy for her being surrounded by teenage boys all of the time."

Thomas rolled his eyes right back and returned his attention to his video game.

"Are you thirsty, Eli? Can I get you a drink while we wait?" Clare asked.

"No thanks, I'm-" Clare grabbed Eli's hand, cutting him short, and pulled him into the kitchen.

"I am so sorry. They are acting horrible tonight. I just don't know what to do," Clare told him in a panic.

"Clare, sweetheart, they are fine! Thomas was a little short with me, but he's busy with his game. I know how it is. Jacob and Daniel have been nothing but nice," Eli attempted to calm Clare down.

"Okay, fine, if you say so... hey, what are those other flowers for? And the presents? You have some other dates later that you aren't telling me about?" Clare joked.

"Nope, you will see."

"MOOOOOOMMMM!" Elisa yelled out from her bedroom, breaking the conversation between Eli and Clare. "Mooooommm I need you!"

"What is it honey?" Clare asked as she made her way into Elisa's room. Elisa looked like she was on the verge of tears and she was only half dressed with a hairbrush stuck in her hair. "Oh my, what happened?"

"I heard Thomas making fun of me so I started rushing to finish getting ready, but then I couldn't get my dress zippered, then my brush got stuck. I can't get it out! Oh no, what if you have to cut my hair off? No, please no! Dad loves my hair, he will be so mad at me. Just get it out, please Mommy, get it out!" Elisa tugged at the brush and broke down into tears.

Clare knew this was a dire situation. Elisa never called her Mommy anymore unless something was really wrong. Clare hadn't seen her daughter like this in such a long time. She took the brush out of Elisa's hands and started picking it slowly out of her hair.

"Your hair will be fine. It's just a little tangled, don't worry, no scissors today, but please tell me what has gotten you so worked up. This is not like you?"

"I just want tonight to be perfect. I want the boys to like Eli. And I want Eli to feel comfortable in our family. And I wanted to look nice for once, but everything went to hell," Elisa complained.

Clare glared at her daughter for saying hell, but then she realized that she really didn't care. She care more about her daughter's well being than about yelling at her right now.

"Leelee, you do not have to worry about any of that! Let me worry about those things. Also, Eli and your brothers seem to be getting along fine. I don't think there is even anything to worry about. As for you, you will always look beautiful no matter what."

Clare pulled the remaining hair out of the brush, gave Elisa's hair a quick brush to get the rest of the knots out, zippered her dress up and gave her daughter a hug.

"Are we alright now?" Clare asked.

"Yes Mom. Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Leelee, now let's get going. I think we've keep the boys waiting long enough."

* * *

><p>"Eli!" Elisa yelled as she entered the living room and saw Eli sitting on the couch. She was so happy that he was back, she ran over and gave him a hug.<p>

"Hello, Elisa. It's nice to see you again. These are for you." Eli handed her a bouquet of flowers and Clare smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"Oh, and I have a little something for Jacob, Thomas, and Daniel too," Eli said, catching the attention of each boy as their names were mentioned. "It's not much but here." Eli handed them each a little blue envelope. And waited for them to open them.

"Your mom said you guys liked muscle cars? This show is supposed to be awesome, my dad goes every year. I wish I could go, but I'll be out of town. I have an extra ticket if you want to take your dad or your grandpa."

"This is awesome! I really wanted to go to this, the guys at school have been talking about it all week. They are going to be so jealous when I tell them!" Thomas finally opened up and showed some emotion.

"Good, I'm glad you like it. I hope you guys will let me know how it is." Eli also hoped that he wasn't overstepping his place. He didn't want to make Clare angry with his gifts or his insinuation that this outing could be a regular occurrence.

"Eli, you didn't have to do all this," Clare told him quietly as the boys talked excitedly about the car show.

"It is honestly my pleasure. I love making people happy, especially you."

"Okay, are we finally ready for dinner?" Clare asked the rowdy crowd. She was met with a choir of yeahs.

* * *

><p>"Well, I would say dinner was a success, they are all in the living room talking about you right now."<p>

When they had arrived back at Clare's house after dinner, she insisted that Eli stay for coffee. It really wasn't that hard to convince him; she only had to ask once. Eli had opted to wait outside on the front steps saying something about watching the stars and Clare didn't push him. She knew it must have been difficult for him earlier to be in the home that she had built with Jake.

Clare had just returned back out front and sat next to Eli with two cups of coffee.

"I'm glad, I really wanted to make a good first impression."

Eli was acting rather quiet since they arrived back. He had yet another difficult question that he wanted to ask Clare and he was weighing his options. He still wasn't sure if he should ask or not. He knew it would be a big step and he did not want her to feel pressured.

"Is something wrong?" Clare asked as she handed him is coffee and watched him sip it slowly.

"No, I'm fine. How could anything be wrong when I'm sitting next to you?" Eli forced a smile.

"Eli, I know you. I know something is bothering you. You promised no secrets, remember?"

"I guess I'm just upset that I have to leave again tomorrow. Things are just starting to work out properly, and I have to take off again. I'm just a little sad," Eli told her.

"I'm sad too, I wish I could come with you."

Eli's face brightened up a bit at those words. "You could you know. You could come with me."

"No I can't. I could never afford that."

Eli saw his opening and took it. "You don't have to. All you would have to do is make sure the kids were looked after for the weekend. Then you could come with me. I know you want to come to New York City. You could do all the touristy stuff. I know you would love it. I was actually just trying to figure out how I could ask you come with me. I didn't want to sound selfish. I want you there. Please, Clare, I have a BIG interview coming up. I think I need you there for support."

Clare's heart melted, Eli really wanted her to come with him. She wished that she could say yes. She really wanted to be there for him and she really did want to see New York City.

"But I can't. I can't leave the kids for the weekend, Jake is moving this weekend and I still haven't found a job..." Clare was trying very hard to convince herself to say no, but it wasn't working very well. She could think of a million reasons why she shouldn't go, but all the signs were pointing to yes.

"On the other hand, the boys are going to the car show then camping with their grandfather again. I'm sure Elisa wouldn't mind staying with my mother for the weekend. And I don't really want or need to be here while Jake moves out."

"So... that's a yes then?" Eli asked trying to control his excitement.

"If Elisa agrees to stay with my mother, then yes." Clare couldn't believe she was actually going along with this. The old Clare would have never made plans like this so spontaneously. The old Clare would never have planned a weekend getaway on one night's notice. The old Clare would have never left the country with a guy and left her children home alone. Clare was starting to feel guilty.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You are a grown woman, you can do whatever you want. How about this. Go ask Elisa and call your mom. If they agree then we will go." Eli set out a plan for her. "I have to go home and pack. Call me when you start packing your suitcase and let me know that you have decided to join me."

Eli kissed Clare goodbye, got in his car and called his manager.

"Hey Jerry, I'm going to need you to book me a second ticket on that flight for tomorrow. Thanks," Eli hung up before Jerry could ask questions or complain. He knew Jerry would bug Clare as soon as he met her anyway, might as well wait and deal with it all tomorrow in New York.

* * *

><p>"Hey Leelee, I've got a little favor to ask of you." Clare found her daughter sitting in her room reading.<p>

"Sure Mom, what is it?"

"Would you mind staying with Grandma this weekend while the boys are away?"

A huge grin spread across Elisa's face, "No, problem, but one condition. You have to tell me all about your weekend with Eli in New York when you get home."

Clare should have know Elisa had been spying on their conversation. She loved her daughter, but Elisa would never let her live this down.


End file.
